The Man's Sport
by chariots99
Summary: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em." ...Quidditch-centric...
1. Beauxbaton's Big Mistake

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em." ...Quidditch-centric...

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Note: **Words written in _Italics_ are being spoken in _French_...the language which they speak at Beauxbatons. Also, I'm going with the books and saying that it is a co-ed school, like Hogwarts (in the movie, they make the school out to be an all female school...I was a bit like 'wtf' when I saw that).

Okay, here we go!

**Chapter One - Beauxbaton's Big Mistake**

"_Pass it here!_"

Quidditch. Was there ever a finer sport?

"_Bludger! Duck!_"

Whirls of colours, rapid and skilled swerving, players weaving in and out.

"_Come on dude, I'm free!_"

Lily Evans, captain and chaser, scowled angrily up at the fourteen players in the sky. She herself currently stood at the edge of Beauxbaton's Quidditch field, surrounded by four other girls who carried a crate of Quidditch balls between them. Each girl had a broom in hand, slung over their shoulder. Each looking equally put off at the players already on the field.

"_What do they think they're doing?_" Lily hissed, green eyes flashing. "_We booked the pitch months ago! How dare they intrude?_"

The other four girls made sounds of agreement. If looks could kill, there would be dead boys falling from the sky.

"_Do you think they forgot?_" A soft voice spoke up. Michaela Lefevre, seeker, as well as the youngest player on their team, was always determined to see the best in others. Even horrible boys who stole Quidditch fields on purpose.

"_I highly doubt it_," Alice Chevalier said, "_They must've known. I think this is a message_."

"_Well then, they're just going to have to come down and say it too our faces_," Lily said through gritted teeth, before pulling out her wand. She felt her entire team take a step back away from her. Somewhere under the layers of fury and anger, was a spark of amusement at their united movement; they knew how deadly she could be when pissed off.

The boys in the sky never saw it coming; one moment, the quaffle was being tossed at breakneck speed, and the next it just completely disappeared. All play halted as they looked around in confusion, trying to locate the missing red ball. It was only the shout that gained their attention; looking to the ground, they all saw the fiery red-head tossing their missing ball up and down.

Fourteen boys doved towards the ground, bludgers and snitches forgotten about.

"_Oi Evans! What gives?_" Sam Fitzroy, captain of _Aigle_ (Beauxbaton's top Quidditch team), roared.

"_What gives? I'll tell you what gives!_" Lily growled, causing all the boys to take a step back, alarmed. "_We booked the pitch months ago! Who the hell do think you are coming and taking our spot?_"

"_Why on earth would you still need the pitch?_" Sam asked, laughing. That boy really had a death wish.

"_Oh jeez, I don't know. Maybe to practice?_" Lily said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "_Practice? So, you haven't heard?_"

"_Heard what?_" There was a dangerous note in Lily's voice now.

One of Sam's team mates whispered desperately into the boy's ear. He nodded, before turning to wave the Quidditch coach over. There really was no need, since Coach Lima was coming over anyway, wanting to see what the disturbance in his team's play had been caused by.

"_Evans!_" Coach Lima said with a tone of surprise. "_What are you doing on the field?_"

"_Well, I was going to play Quidditch, until they took over._" It took a lot of energy for Lily to reply in her usual polite manner. She couldn't care less that her answer was probably rather short and disjointed.

"_Ah..._" the Coach trailed off uncomfortably, "_I take it no one has told you, then?_"

Seeing her best friend on the verge of an explosion, Alice dropped the crate so that she could grab Lily's shoulder. "_Told us about what, coach?_" She asked when it became clear that another word from Lily would cause the aforementioned explosion.

"_Well...you girls haven't enough people to make up one team, not since graduation,_" Coach Lima said. And it was true; last year's graduation had taken a beater and a chaser from Lily's team, along with the entire opposing team who used to play. The younger Beauxbaton girls were highly reluctant to join in such a dangerous and "unlady-like" sport, leaving huge chunks from the female league which consisted of an already aging team. Still, Lily had hoped that this year there would be some willing to give the sport a go. No such luck, apparently.

"_We've tried recruiting,_" Michaela spoke up. She was the youngest player on their team, and was already in her fourth year.

"_You haven't had much luck, then,_" Sam said rather snidely, causing Lily to let out a warning growl.

"_Look girls, I know the effort you've put in, but the problem is that you simply don't have enough to make a proper game,_" Coach Lima said apologetically. "_With five players, you can't even fill out one team._"

"_Then let us join with the boys._" Jo Fournier, short for Joanna (a name she absolutely detested), spoke up.

There was a moment of stunned silence, before all fourteen boys were on the ground, laughing. Even the coach's lips twitched, something that did not go unnoticed by the even more enraged Lily.

"_We're just as good, we can hold our own,_" she spat, fingering her wand.

"_Sorry, but we all know that no girl can play a man's sport better than...well, a man,_" Coach Lima smiled.

"_Sexist pig_," Jo growled, glaring holes through her once-favourite professor.

"_Bottom line is,_" the coach carried on, having not heard Jo's interruption, "_The girl's league has been cancelled, and your team has been scrapped. Sorry, but there's not much I can do._"

"_Not that you've tried,_" Jo muttered. Michaela shushed her before she could get in trouble.

"_You cancelled our team._" Lily repeated through gritted teeth.

"_Don't be like that, Evans_," Sam grinned, "_You could always take up knitting or embroidery. Tell you what, if you learn how to knit, I'll let you take a ride on my broomstick._"

The boys let out jeers and catcalls, unaware of the fury building up in the red head. It wasn't until the loud explosion of wood that stunned silence settled once more. The quaffle that had been tightly clutched in Lily's hand had exploded, showering the boys with red splinters.

"_Most knitting needles are bigger than your broomstick,_" Lily said, furious green eyes contradicting her calm tone. She sent Sam another swift glare before spinning on her heels and marching off.

The other girls followed, taking their Quidditch crate with them and sending silent death threats at the boys, who were left to stare in disbelief at the remains of what had once been their beloved quaffle.

.

"_I don't believe this!_" Jo shouted, punching the wall in her anger.

"_They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!_" Lily ranted, her face turning as red as her hair, green eyes sparkling dangerously.

Jo growled. "_Those sexist bastards!"_ She had always been the best at phrasing explicates.

"_This must be illegal! We've always played Quidditch! They can't just cancel part of our life!_" Violet Hastings said. A fifth year student, best friends with Jo, and with a twin brother at another magical school, Violet was usually on the calmer side. One would have to be, to balance out Jo's tomboyish tendencies.

The five girls were gathered in Michaela's room, each venting their frustration and anger in different ways. It was probably a good thing that the rest of the student (and staff) population were at dinner, or surely someone would have come in by now to tell them off for the amount of noise they were making.

Lily was pacing the room, red hair crackling with fury. Jo was still punching the wall; perhaps it was a good thing that Alice had put a cushioning charm on the girl's gloves so there wouldn't be any permanent damage. Violet was staring out the window at the dark sky outside, trying to calm herself down. Michaela was ripping a piece of spare parchment over and over again. And Alice?

She sat on Michaela's bed, a smug look on her face as she watched her friends rant. It wasn't until a good fifteen minutes later that they noticed her lack of anger.

"_What are you looking so happy about?_" Lily asked brusquely, toying with her Prefect's badge.

"_I know how we can make those boys pay,_" Alice said simply.

"_Huh?_" Jo asked.

Alice smirked. "_Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join them._"

The team eyed Alice warily - she was well known for her out-of-the-ordinary ideas; that was what made her the team's best strategist. Unfortunately, that also made her one of the sport's most dangerous players. And that glint in her eyes was definitely something worth worrying about.

It was Michaela who finally voiced the question. "_What are you talking about?_" She asked.

"_Violet, what school does your twin go to?_" Alice said instead.

Violet looked rather taken aback. "_Sebastian? He goes to Hogwarts...oh no._"

"_Oh yes._"

"_Oh, what?_" Lily asked eagerly, Jo and Michaela looking on curiously.

"_Ladies, what is the finest Quidditch school in all of Europe?_" Alice asked.

"_Hogwarts, but...oh no,_" Michaela groaned.

"_Oh yes,_" Alice said smugly.

"_Oh what?_" Lily demanded, with Jo frowning behind her.

"_And what event occurs at the end of each year requires two Quidditch teams from both Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, along with Durmstrang?_" Alice asked with a happy smile.

"_Are you talking about the Interschool Quidditch Cup?_" Jo asked, "_Because, we've never actually played in that since we don't have enough...oh no._"

"_Oh yes,_" Alice grinned.

"Did we not just go through this_?_" Lily exploded.

Her best friend just laughed. "_I'm surprised you haven't figured it out! And you call yourself a straight "O" student,_" she teased.

"_Make fun of me later,_" Lily growled, "_Just tell me right now what your plan is._"

"_Okay, picture this; we infiltrate Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with a little help from Sebastian Hastings of course. Get onto their Quidditch teams. Become star players. At the end of the year, get chosen for one of the two All Stars teams that will play those sexist pigs. And kick their ass, of course,_" Alice added. "_They'll be so impressed that they're gonna have to reinstate the girl's league._"

Lily groaned. "_Oh no._"

"_Oh yes._"

"_You do realise that the Hogwarts Quidditch teams are also all-male, right?_" Lily asked, dropping to the floor in an exhausted heap.

"_I know; but I also know a little thing called magic,_" Alice said, idly examining her nails.

"_You want us to polyjuice as boys for a whole year?_" Lily was sure that her voice had just broken the sound barrier.

Alice gave her a weird look. "_No. You'd have to be pretty desperate to do that._"

"_Then what are you suggesting?_"

"_A haircut, looser clothes, male robes, sideburns, and a new identity._"

_"You seemed to have this all planned out,_" Violet said wryly, "_Have you ever considered the fact that maybe my brother won't help us?_"

"_He's your twin; of course he'll help,_" Alice said.

Violet rolled her eyes, but didn't bother to say anything further. Next to her, Jo looked like she was actually considering the idea, whereas Michaela looked like she was about to faint if they agreed to it.

"_There's no way we can pull it off,_" Michaela said softly, "_The amount of paperwork required would be a dead-set giveaway. It's hard to create a new identity _and_ forge all the paperwork required for it._"

"_Au contraire_," Alice smirked, "_My favourite aunt is the head of Britain's Department of Law Enforcement. I'm sure she'd be happy to pull some strings for us._"

"_Yeah, or you could ask her to make Coach Lima reinstate the girls Quidditch team,_" Lily retorted.

"_She's in the British Ministry of Magic, not the French one._"

_"Alice, think about what you are saying,_" Lily pleaded, "_You want us to go for a whole year as someone else who doesn't exist for the sake of showing up those boys. Everything we achieve will be under that alibi; this could potentially destroy our futures. How're you going to get all our parents to agree on this? I highly doubt my parents would let me just transfer out of Beauxbatons. And that's another thing; how do you know Hogwarts will accept us? Term's already been going for two weeks!_"

"_Lily,_" Alice interrupted patiently, "_When we reveal ourselves, they'll transfer all that crap back under our real names. Besides, it's the N.E.W.T.S. that'll really count, and by then we'll be back in Beauxbatons. I'm sure we can think up some story to tell our parents so they'll sign the forms. Actually, I think almost all of our parents would agree to this - they all know how much Quidditch means to us. And trust me, Hogwarts will accept us; my aunt will see to that._"

Bright green eyes silently observed Alice. "_You're serious about this, aren't you?_" Lily asked softly.

"_Yes,_" Alice nodded. "_Quidditch is my life; I will not spend the next two years without it, just because Coach Lima is a sexist bastard who doesn't believe that girls can keep up with boys._"

Lily sighed, tugging at her vivid red hair in thought. She'd never done anything as risky as this. If they were found out...she didn't even want to think about what would happen. But what Alice said was also true. This was a chance to show those boys exactly what they were up against. A chance to prove, once and for all, that women could do anything and everything men could.

Seeing the doubts resolving themselves in her friend's eyes, Alice grinned. "_Alright, let's start with names, shall we?"_ She asked, turning to the rest of the girls who had been momentarily forgotten about.

"_Er...names?_" Michaela asked.

"_For our male identities, of course!_" Alice exclaimed, "_We'll change our names into their male forms! So you'll get to be...Michael! Michael Lefevre!_"

"_We're keeping our last names?_" Michaela asked.

"_Yep; makes it less confusing,_" Alice said cheerfully, "_That way I won't have to remember to many things. Alright Jo –_"

"_I'll stay Jo, thanks,_" Jo said, "_Besides, it can be a boys' name,_" she added in defence.

Alice shrugged. "_Can't argue with that. I'll be...erm...Ali..Alex! Alex Chevalier! Always liked the name 'Alex'_," she grinned.

"_That's because you have a crush on Alex Moreau,_" Jo said.

"_Your point?_"

"_What about me?_" Violet asked with a frown.

"_You can be...erm...Viola...Vi...Vix...Viv...V.._." Alice stuttered, realising that they were all girls' names. "_Yeah, I got nothin'._"

"_Her name is a hard one, isn't it?_" Michaela mused.

"_How about Brett?_" Jo asked.

"_Errr...what?_"

"_Yeah, something completely random. Since, you know, nothing else is really working._"

"_Brett Hastings,_" Violet grinned, "_I like it._"

Alice smirked in triumph, turning to Lily who threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. Her mind had obviously been made up for her; oh boy, Hogwarts would not know what hit her.

"_Fine!_" She sighed, before turning dangerous green eyes on the other girls, "_But we have to win._"

"_We will_," Alice said, brushing off her best friend's concerns, "_You'll see._"

_"Pile in!_" Jo shouted, "_Alright Capt'n. Wanna start us off?_"

"_Allow me,_" Alice said when Lily stared at her Beater, stumped. "_To Hogwarts_," she said, sticking her hand to the middle of their circle.

"_To Quidditch!_" Violet exclaimed, putting her hand on top of Alice's.

"_To dressing up as boys_," Jo said cheekily, extending her hand.

"_To winning,_" Michaela added, a fierce look in her normally calm eyes.

Lily looked around slowly at each member of what was left of her team. They all looked back at her, determined, fearless. They knew what they were doing, what they were sacrificing, what they were putting on the line. Yet they were willing to risk it all. Slowly, her mouth curved up into a grin. It didn't matter what they would face, what they would have to overcome. They were best friends, team mates, sisters. And they would show the world what they were capable of.

Her pale hand rested at the top of the pile.

"_To kicking Beauxbaton's ass_."

.

_So...what did you guys think?_

_Please leave a __**REVIEW**__!_


	2. Manning Up

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

Thankyou so much for all my reviewers! Please do leave a review :)

Why did I update so fast? 'Cause I'm awesome...no, not really. This chapter just had to be written.

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Note: **Words written in _Italics_ are being spoken in _French_...the language which they speak at Beauxbatons. Also, I'm going with the books and saying that it is a co-ed school, like Hogwarts.

**Chapter Two - Manning Up**

Saturdays at Diagon Alley weren't very busy at all. There was hardly anyone around; well, alright there were a fair few people around. But it wasn't as crowded as some markets in France on a 'slow' day.

Then again, they weren't in France anymore.

It had taken the five girls three whole days to convince their parents of their plans. Okay, scrap that - it had taken Lily three whole days to convince her mum of their plans. Alice Chevalier's parents had promptly agreed; they knew of their daughter's dreams to go on to play Quidditch professionally, and figured that being trained at Hogwarts would only help her, even if she was masquerading as a boy. The same went for Jo Fournier. Michaela Lefevre's parents had agreed, reluctantly yes, but they had agreed nonetheless.

Violet Hastings's parents had been killed the year before; she'd merely told her guardian that she wanted to be with her brother. She didn't even have to turn on the water-works for him to agree.

Lily's mum had flat out refused to allow her daughter to transfer. Three days of nonstop badgering, whining, and flattery did nothing to help. In the end, she gave up and let Alice's parents do the talking. The next morning, she found a stack completed paperwork requesting for her transfer to Hogwarts. Thanking Merlin for whatever Alice's parents had done, she'd promptly owled the paperwork off.

The very next day, five acceptance letters found their way to Beauxbatons.

Even now, as they were walking through the rather empty streets of Diagon Alley, Lily fingered her letter tucked safely into her pocket. She'd already memorised it, having read it a million and one times to make sure her eyes hadn't deceived her.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Evans,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted for sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Please meet with me at the Leaky Cauldron this Saturday, at four in the afternoon, where I shall escort you to Hogwarts._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall,_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Attached had been a booklist, also known as the reason why they were in Diagon Alley.

"This would be faster if we all split up_._"

Lily jerked from her reverie when Sebastian Hastings started talking. As Violet's twin, the boy had been escorted to Diagon Alley to help the girls posing as boys buy their school supplies. He'd been fully briefed on their plan (or rather, on Alice's plan), and though he'd informed them that they were all idiots, he'd agreed to help them in any way he could, all the while posing as the stronger twin for his "distraught brother".

"_Good idea,_" Jo said, "_Alright, you and Violet can go get our books, Lily and Alice can get our school robes, and me'n Michaela will get the rest._"

"_All that's left are potions supplies,_" Violet frowned.

"_If you want to pick up five sets worth of dragon liver, by all means trade with me,_" Jo snipped.

Violet paled. "_N-no, it's alright, I'll get our books._"

"_Let's meet up at that ice cream place down there,_" Alice said, "_We'll get our hair cut, and man up._"

"One more thing," Sebastian said as they all agreed with Alice's plan, "We're not in France anymore, so you ladies may want to start speaking in English. Just a suggestion."

"Point taken," Violet acknowledged. Her French accent was so much more noticeable than her twin's – then again, Sebastian couldn't speak French all that well.

The six dispersed in their separate directions, five trunks being dragged unceremoniously across the ground; they had packed their most boyish clothes...and their brooms, of course. Lily grabbed Alice's arm as she began to walk off. "_Erm Alice? 'Madam Malkins' is that way._"

"I knew that! I was just testing you! And what happened to 'speak in English'?"

Lily merely rolled her eyes as the two girls set off again.

"It's kinda freaky how much Sebastian looks like Violet," Alice said, changing the subject.

"Well, they are twins," Lily said.

"Still, it's not something I expected..." Alice trailed off, pushing open the doors to _Madam Malkins_.

They were immediately accosted by a very welcoming witch, whom they assumed to be Madam Malkin. "Hello! I don't normally see children your age during Hogwarts days...are you homeschooled? Well, doesn't matter, what can I do for you? We just had a new shipment of dress robes come in; French design! Never had those before. Then of course, there's our absolute favourites, over there - we now stock them in lemon and daisy!"

Lily and Alice exchanged unnerved glances as Madam Malkin kept talking. Finally Lily cleared her throat loud enough for the over-enthusiastic woman to pause mid-rant.

"Bon jour, madam," Lily smiled, "Me and my friend here are in need of some Hogwarts robes. Loose ones would be preferable. Oh, we'll be needing five pairs."

Both Lily and Alice were perfectly aware of their strong French accents. What they weren't prepared for was Madam Malkin's eyes lighting up the moment Lily began talking. "French girls! Oh my, I never thought I'd see the day! Oh, we must get you girls properly equipped for Hogwarts! You two are a few weeks late, but I'm sure you'll be able to catch up on the work and whatnot. Here –" she added, thrusting a bundle of thick winter cloaks at them, "You'll need these too. Crest gets sown on at school, when you've been sorted. Now, robes...robes..."

Madam Malkin all but overturned her entire store to find the robes. She finally returned with an armful, out of which Lily and Alice picked the five largest sizes that wouldn't slide right off their frames.

"Merci," Lily smiled after paying, and the two departed from the store with profound relief.

"_Didn't realise British people liked French girls that much_," Alice said.

"It could be just her," Lily pointed out, rearranging the five bags of cloaks on her arms. "And I thought we were speaking in English?"

Alice poked out her tongue playfully.

The two girls were the last to reach Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, where they handed out the robes and folded up the cloaks. Sebastian helped them stuff the cloaks, along with their freshly bought books and potions ingredients, inside their trunks.

"Don't be too long," Sebastian said, "Minnie's coming for you five in three hours."

"Erm...Minnie?" Alice asked, confused.

Sebastian snuffed a laugh. "Professor McGonagall. Everyone calls her Minnie behind her back; they've done it ever since Sirius Black proposed to her in the Great Hall. Epic stuff."

"Sirius Black? That sixth year Gryffindor you keep talking about?" Violet said with a raised eyebrow. "Why have I never heard of this proposal incident?"

Sebastian shrugged. "You don't tell me everything about your school."

"Anyway," Jo interrupted loudly, "We don't really have much time to waste. Sebastian, nice seeing you again. And thank you once again for helping us out with our...plan."

"My pleasure. Just don't steal my girlfriend away from me when you become guys," he said cheerfully. "I'll catch up with you guys at Hogwarts!"

"Au revoir, brother dear!" Violet grinned. "You shall soon have another twin."

"Look forward to it," Sebastian said wryly, before leaving the girls to themselves.

They quickly found themselves a secluded corner - and by secluded, they meant completely deserted - where they then proceeded to face the most dreaded part of Alice's plan; cutting off their hair. It was no problem for Jo Fournier; her hair had always been short and boyish, and she was thus the appointed hair dresser But the others greatly treasured their long hair.

"_Oh, don't be such wimps!_" Jo said, grabbing her best friend. "_Come on Violet, I'll cut yours first._"

Violet sniffed sadly. "_Goodbye hair. We've had some wonderful times together._"

Two seconds after Jo waved her wand, Violet's hair fell away in layers until she was left with uncomfortably short brown hair. The same happened for Alice, then Michaela, and finally Lily. Strangely enough, it was only as she watched her beautiful red locks fall to the ground, that the gravity of the situation hit her full on.

"_We're really doing this_," Lily whispered.

"_Yeah..._" Alice breathed.

The others looked equally as awed, before their expressions hardened into ones of fierce determination.

"_We can do this_," Violet said.

"_Yeah; if guys can be guys, then so can we,_" Jo added with a grin.

"_And that's what we're trying to prove - that we can do anything guys can,_" Michaela smiled. "_To Quidditch._"

"_Dressing up as dudes,_" Violet smiled.

"_Going to Hogwarts,_" Jo said.

"_Winning_," Alice said fiercely.

"_And kicking some Beauxbaton ass!_" Lily whooped.

.

It was nearing four in the afternoon when they met up with Professor McGonagall at the Leaky Cauldron. She turned out to be a very strict lady, giving them all stern looks over her glasses. She attempted what she probably felt was a welcoming smile, but it didn't really turn out too well.

"Mr Hastings," she greeted, picking out the one that looked identical to one of her students. "I must say, I do hope you aren't as much trouble as your brother."

"Not nearly as much, madam," Violet said, "I was the good twin."

"Hm." Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared slightly, before she turned to face Alice. "Mr Chevalier?"

"Bon jour," Alice smiled.

"Your aunt was most insistent that we let you into Hogwarts," McGonagall said. She didn't appear happy about it...but then again, she didn't really appear upset either.

"She can be rather persistent when she wants," Alice admitted.

"I'm afraid that the rest of you will have to introduce yourselves to me," McGonagall said, turning to Lily, Joanna and Michaela.

The three girls exchanged glances, before Joanna spoke up. "I'm Jo Fournier; these are Michael Lefevre, and Liam Evans."

"Enchante," Lily said with a polite smile.

McGonagall inclined her head in acknowledgement, before extracting what appeared to be a beautiful red feather from within her robes. "If you'll each hold on to this. And make sure to keep a hand on your trunks too."

Each girl reached out a hand to grasp the surprisingly soft feather.

"Fawkes," McGonagall intoned. A blur of colours and sounds later, and the six of them landed in a magnificent office, full of intricate instruments and moving portraits.

"Wow," Lily breathed. Her best friend looked equally awed, as did the rest of the girls.

"Ah, our Beauxbatons transfers!"

The five spun as one, while McGonagall turned much more gracefully, to find a wizened old man smiling serenely at them with twinkling blue eyes.

"Headmaster," Professor McGonagall greeted.

"Thank you, Minerva," Dumbledore said, before turning once more to the new students. "Before I can let you join with your fellow students, you must first be sorted into the correct house. I must admit, we've haven't had transfer students in more than a century, and the last time we did, our hat refused to even begin the sorting. That said, I do believe we'll have more luck than last time."

It was only until the Headmaster gestured towards his table that Lily noticed the rather old hat sitting floppily on it. She exchanged confused glances with Alice, before turning back to Dumbledore, who had started speaking again.

"There are four houses here at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house embodies a certain set of values and beliefs. Normally our students will have seven years to develop a sense of family within their houses," Dumbledore paused with a humorous smile, "But you five will have considerably less time.

"Normally, at this point, the hat would begin to sing. However, it has already sung its song this year, so I see no reason why we can't move straight into the sorting. Mr Chevalier, would you like to come first?" Dumbledore gestured, as McGonagall lifted the hat off the table.

Alice gulped audibly before moving forwards and allowing McGonagall to place the hat on her head. Lily watched, holding her breath, as the hat shifted around slightly. A moment later, a split in the brim opened wide, and the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily was rather surprised to see the smile that flashed across Professor McGonagall's face as Alice rejoined the group.

"Mr Evans, if you'd like to come up now."

It was Lily's turn to gulp. Alice shot her a comforting smile, while Jo patted her encouragingly on her back. All sight disappeared as the hat was dropped on her head, and fell down to cover her eyes. It was rather peaceful staring into the darkness...until the voice sounded in her head.

_Another one!_

Lily was quite sure she jumped, startled.

Something - and she suspected the hat - chuckled in her head. _Don't worry, I'm completely harmless. Now, let's see..._

See what? Lily wanted to ask.

_I can see inside your head; that's how I see where you belong._

Ah...of course. A hat that could read minds.

She jumped again when the hat chuckled. Again. _Intelligent though you are, you're not all that bright if you haven't figured out that I also hear your thoughts. You wouldn't do too well in Ravenclaw...they value brightness, along with intelligence, see?_

No, I don't really see...

The hat chuckled again. _Witty one! Don't get you too often! Hm...Slytherin's definitely out as well. They don't take too well to muggleborn witches and wizards, no matter how powerful._

Lily scowled. She'd forgotten about the prejudices the British-born Violet had told her about.

_Yes, prejudices indeed. Hufflepuff's definitely an option; your loyalty to your friends knows no bounds. However, it takes a lot of courage and bravery to transfer schools and pose as a different gender, all in the name of something you believe in._

Lily panicked. It knew about her being a girl!

_Oh, of course I know, silly girl! I can see into your minds, remember? No, I think the obvious answer is..._"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily almost squealed with delight when she caught herself just in time. _Boys don't squeal_. Alice flashed her a grin; the two best friends would be in the same house.

"Mr Fournier, if you will."

Jo walked up to the hat with her head held high. Only those who knew her well could have picked out the slight gleam of panic present in her eyes. But she really needn't have worried. "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Mr Hastings, up you come."

Lily had known that the chances of all four girls being sorted into the same house would be slim to none. However, after three of them being sorted into Gryffindor, she had allowed her hopes to rise. They came crashing down a moment later when the hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF!"

It was Violet herself who broke the silence between the girls. "I'm in the same house as my brother!"

Jo clapped her best friend on the back. "We'll still hang out, right?"

Violet smiled and nodded, as "Mr" Lefevre was called up. And a moment later...HUFFLEPUFF!"

Michaela and Violet exchanged high-fives.

Lily smiled. Though she hated the idea of her team being split up, at least each had a friend with them.

Professor Dumbledore smiled at the five girls while Professor McGonagall began to pack the hat away. "Now you have been sorted, three into Gryffindor, and two into Hufflepuff. Both exceptional houses; both having produced fine witches and wizards. For you Gryffindors, Professor McGonagall here is your Head of House. Any issues you have, you may take it up with her. Hufflepuffs are lucky enough to have Professor Sprout as the Head of House - you will no doubt be meeting her personally tomorrow."

Violet and Michaela exchanged glances before turning back to the serenely smiling man.

"For now though, the five of you will have at least an hour before dinner begins," Dumbledore said. "I shall summon prefects from your houses to show you to your dorms...Minerva, could you perhaps ask Remus Lupin and Marlene McKinnon to come up? They are the sixth year Gryffindor prefects," he added for the girls' benefit, "As well as Emily –"

At that moment, the doors to Dumbledore's office burst open. Lily spun around to see three boys enter, all trying to avoid the cat circling around their feet. A rather badly dressed man followed, his hand clutching the back of the black haired boy's robes.

"Headmaster," the man grumbled, "I found these boys trying to set off a couple of dungbombs in the Great Hall. Thought it would be funny," he added, emphasizing the word with a shake of his fist, and causing the black haired boy to be jerked around a bit. He sent the man a scowl, which was promptly ignored.

"Ah," Dumbledore said, surveying the guilty faces, "Thankyou Argus."

The man nodded, before leaving the office, the cat hot on his heels. Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something to the boys, but McGonagall beat him to it.

"Remus Lupin!" She all but barked.

The fair-haired boy jumped slightly, turning guilty amber eyes at his Head of House. "Professor?"

"I am disappointed in you. Mr Lupin, you are a Prefect! You are the one setting the example for our younger students. What kind of example is this?"

The boy - Remus - bit his lip, but didn't answer. However, the glasses wearing boy next to him spoke up.

"With all due respect, Professor, Remus wasn't actually doing anything."

There was a moment of silence, which involved a lot of blinking on McGonagall's part. However, Lily noticed the small smile that had sprouted on Professor Dumbledore's face.

"I'm sorry Mr Potter, care to repeat that?" Professor McGonagall looked rather confused. In fact, judging from the look on Remus' face, so did he.

"Remus didn't do anything," James Potter said rather earnestly. "He was trying to stop us when we got caught. Right Sirius?"

"Right."

Lily's eyebrows shot up, recognising Sebastian's description of the prankster Sirius Black. Very mouth-wateringly handsome, with hair styled into careful disarray and a mischievous grin. _Heart breaker_, Lily mused, _But no less good-looking for it._

"Honestly Professor, that new caretaker really can't tell the troublemakers and the do-gooders apart," Sirius grinned, "I mean, a Prefect? Letting off dungbombs? What's next, turning the fifth floor into a swamp?"

"Although..." James muttered, before McGonagall spoke up.

"Don't even think about it, Mr Potter," she warned. "Mr Lupin, are your friends speaking the truth?"

Lily saw the darting glance Remus shot his friends. When they smiled back reassuringly, he said, "It's true."

"Very well," Professor McGonagall nodded. "In that case, you are dismissed."

"Hold on," Dumbledore said, speaking up for the first time. Lily saw Remus swallow heavily, and was sure he thought that the Headmaster had seen through his friends lies. However, Professor Dumbledore just smiled. "Mr Lupin, we have three transfer students who were sorted into Gryffindor. Would you be able to escort them to Gryffindor tower, then down to the Great Hall for dinner? Also, if you see any of the Hufflepuff prefects, particularly Emily Thompson, please send them up to my office."

"O-Of course, Professor," Remus smiled, relieved.

Dumbledore gestured towards Lily, Alice and Jo. The three girls exchanged glances, before leaving Violet and Michaela behind.

"So, transfer students? Where are you guys from?" Remus asked, leading them through the corridor.

"Beauxbatons," Lily answered, her trunk dragging behind her.

That got her a tilted head and an inquisitive look in response. "Do you prefer French or English?"

"Huh?"

Remus laughed. "I can speak some French. I won't mind if you prefer I spoke in your home language."

"Oh, _merci_," Lily smiled, "But we should practice our English. We are in Britain, after all."

"Scotland, actually. Hogwarts is in Scotland," Remus corrected, leading them around the corner.

"Oh." Lily, Alice and Jo exchanged glances before shrugging.

Remus suddenly stopped, reaching out to halt a passing student with a yellow striped tie. "Tim! Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure," the boy smiled. He was young, no older than thirteen, and eager to please the Gryffindor prefect.

"Can you find Emily Thompson and send her to Dumbledore's office?" Remus asked with a smile. "There're two transfers up there who need to be escorted."

"No problem!" Tim said cheerfully, running off.

"Thanks Tim!" Remus shouted after the boy. "Moving on..."

They walked a while longer, passing through so many different corridors that Lily's head was spinning by the end. Finally, they came to a halt.

"Here we are," Remus said, stopping in front of the portrait (moving, of course), of a rather fat lady in an overly puffed-up dress. "This is the Fat Lady; she's the guardian of Gryffindor tower."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Interesting..."

"How do we get in?" Jo asked, giving the painting a tentative smile.

"With a password," the Fat Lady replied, returning Jo's smile with a wave, "New students? The Headmaster informed us not a day past that we may have some. Transfers, I believe? I do hope you'll be less trouble than some other Gryffindors."

Remus cleared his throat. "Yes, well, the password is _Lion's Mane_." The portrait swung open to reveal a very busy common room, decked out in red and gold. There was a fireplace, Lily noted with glee. They never had fireplaces at Beauxbatons; the professors didn't want anyone "burning their homework".

"Now, the boys' dormitories are up the left. The girls' is the right one, but I wouldn't suggest you try climb it," Remus said with a smile, "The stairs forbid any male presence from entering."

Lily bit her lip, trying not to look guilty. She made a mental note to never climb up those stairs; that really wouldn't turn out well.

Remus turned to the three again. He opened his mouth, then closed it, then frowned and repeated his previous actions.

"I'm sorry, but I never actually caught your names," he finally said, with a very sheepish smile.

.

_Yay for another chapter! What did you guys think of that? _

_I really wanted the Marauders' first introduction to show how tight they are, how they've always got each others' back, and yet also show the true pranksters they're made out to be. Hopefully I did a good enough job..._

_Anyway, __**please REVIEW**__! Also, don't be afraid to let me know if there're things you think I can improve on!_

_Thanks for reading!_

_Love Chariots99_


	3. The Other Prefect

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

Thank you so much to all my wonderful reviewers!

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Note: **Words written in _Italics_ are being spoken in _French_...the language which they speak at Beauxbatons. Also, I'm going with the books and saying that it is a co-ed school, like Hogwarts.

**Chapter Three – The Other Prefect**

After leaving Jo Fournier at the fifth year boys dormitory, and introducing her to the only boy that had been in that room (a blonde kid called Albert Parkers), Remus took Lily and Alice up to the sixth year dormitory.

"This is where my friends and I stay," Remus said, opening the door, "We're a rowdy bunch, especially James and Sirius. But we'll try not to keep you guys up at night."

Upon entering the room, Lily almost gagged in disgust. It was chaos. Clothes were piled up on the floor, clean and dirty mixed together. There was a strange smell coming from a rather suspicious looking mountain of Merlin-knows-what in the corner. Loose scraps of parchment littered the floors, along with broken quills and empty ink wells.

"It's a little messy," Remus said apologetically.

"Hey, we're all dudes here!" Alice said cheerfully, hitting Lily on the shoulder and warning her to set her expression straight.

"Remus! Oh, thank Merlin! I don't know what went wrong! I mean, I saw Mrs Norris, but I don't think she saw me...or maybe she just doesn't like to chase ra - "

"Peter!" Remus all but shouted.

The short, and slightly chubby, boy who had been speaking at a hundred miles an hour stopped short. It took him three seconds to realise that the two people with Remus weren't James and Sirius. "Oh..." was all he said.

"Yes...well, this is Peter Pettigrew," Remus said rather stiffly, "He's also sixth year. One of my friends. Peter, these are Liam Evans and Alex Chevalier. They are transfer students from Beauxbatons in France."

"Enchante," Lily smiled.

"Nice to meet you," Alice translated.

"Hi," Peter said, blinking at them, "I didn't realise Hogwarts accepted transfers."

"They haven't, not in more than a century," Alice informed him. "Guess we're just lucky like that."

Peter nodded, seemingly convinced. "So...uh...you guys want to go to dinner now?"

"Peter," Remus sighed, "Can you think of nothing but your stomach?"

At that moment, James Potter and Sirius Black burst into the dormitory, scaring the wits out of Lily.

"Hey guys! I'm starving; let's go to dinner!" Sirius pronounced, without so much as a greeting.

Remus groaned, turning to Lily and Alice with pleading eyes. "Please, tell me you're not like this."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Come on Moony, we're not that bad. Speaking of which, who are you two anyway?"

"Don't be rude," James said, elbowing his friend, "They must be the transfers the Fat Lady was talking about." He turned to the two with a welcoming smile.

"I'm James Potter, and this is my friend Sirius Black."

"Li-Liam Evans," Lily said, passing her slip up as a stutter.

"Alex Fournier."

"You guys have awesome accents," Sirius said.

"Er...thanks, I guess," Lily said.

"Come on, I want my dinner," James said, ignoring Remus' groan of "Not another one!"

"Wow, why are there two new beds in here?" Sirius asked suddenly.

"Well," Remus said through gritted teeth, "I would assume it's because of the two new transfers!"

"I'm starting to get annoyed at being referred as 'transfers'," Lily whispered to Alice.

"I know; it's like we're not even here," she whispered back.

"Wait, so the transfers are sleeping here?" Sirius asked, confused.

"Considering that they are also in sixth year, yes," Remus said.

"But..." Sirius trailed off, glancing at Lily and Alice, "What about the...um..."

"Let's talk about this later," James interrupted hurriedly, watching Remus' face contort as he tried to reign in his temper. "Why don't you two dump your trunks next to one of those beds, and we'll go down to the Great Hall together?"

"We have to actually sleep with the boys?" Lily muttered to Alice, claiming the bed next to the window.

"Hopefully I won't sleep-talk and give us away," Alice whispered back.

.

"So, why did you guys transfer?" James Potter asked as the six made their way out of the common room. "I mean, as far as schools go, Beauxbatons is up there."At Lily's raised eyebrow, he added, "My mum's on the Board of Governors. She's...'in touch' with all the European schools."

"And she makes the best treacle tarts," Sirius added, leading them past a dancing portrait.

"I don't think we should take the shortcut," Remus frowned, "It would do Liam and Alex no good if they don't know the original route."

Sirius sighed. "Fine. Scenic way it is."

"So, why did you guys transfer?" Peter asked curiously, bringing them all back to the original question.

Lily and Alice exchanged glances before simultaneously replying: "Quidditch."

"Quidditch?" Sirius and James exclaimed in delight, while Remus and Peter groaned.

"You guys play then?" James asked.

"Yep," Lily smiled. "You?"

"Hell yeah!" Sirius snorted." Beater. And chaser for Jamie here."

"I got made captain this year," James said proudly, pointing at his badge, "So if you're any good, come along to tryouts!"

"So are all five of you here for Quidditch then?" Remus asked as they descended yet another set of stairs.

"Five? Moony, are you feeling alright?" Sirius asked. "There's only two of them."

"Uh no, actually," Alice said, "Five of us transferred from Beauxbatons. In protest, you see, 'cause they cancelled our Quidditch team –"

"They did what?" Sirius roared, causing Lily to jump in shock.

"This is blasphemy! Why would they do such a thing?" James asked, looking for all the world like they'd just burnt his broomstick into ashes.

Lily and Alice exchanged another glance; this is where things were about to get rocky.

"Well, you see..." she began, "There...uh...weren't enough people who tried out this year, so we ended up having a team of only five people."

"They cut your team because of that?" Sirius frowned. "That's barbaric!"

"That's Beauxbatons," Lily sighed as they turned the millionth corner.

"Well, you've come to the right place," James said, slinging a friendly arm over Lily's shoulders, "We shall accept you even if you're a five man team."

Lily shot Alice a guilty look before smiling at James. If probably came out as more of a grimace, but the boy accepted it all the same.

"So, where's the other three?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, Michael and V-Brett," Lily corrected quickly, "They got sorted into...erm...Jigglypuff?"

"Hufflepuff," Remus supplied calmly.

"Right. And Jo's in Gryffindor, but he's a year younger so we left him at the fifth year dormitory," Lily finished.

"Hm...so we got three of you," James said, "Are you guys really good at Quidditch? What positions do you play? How long have you been playing for? What teams –"

"Prongs!" Remus said loudly. "Save it for tryouts!"

"Right...got it."

But the poor boy looked so forlorn that Lily couldn't help but lean over and whisper: "Me'n Alex are both chasers, and Jo's a keeper," into his ear. James threw her a wink, and Lily felt something flutter within her. It was gone before she could question it, so she just shrugged it off.

Finally they reached the ground floor, where a mass of students were all headed towards a set of open oak doors.

"Welcome to the Great Hall!" Sirius grinned, spreading out his arms as he led them to the Gryffindor table.

"Wow," Lily breathed, staring up at the ceiling, which was twinkling with stars.

"It's enchanted," James said, following her gaze, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Wish that was at Beauxbatons," Alice murmured to Lily, who heartily agreed.

"Sirius Black! I know you took my glasses, now give them back to me!"

Lily turned to see a rather short girl standing at the Gryffindor table, her gaze fixed furiously on Sirius.

"Marlene," the boy said with a good-natured smile, "How're you doing?"

"Don't play around with me, Black," Marlene snarled, "Give me my glasses this instant!"

Sirius sighed, before conjuring a pair of simply-framed glasses and handing it over with a bow.

"That's Marlene McKinnon," Peter said from Lily's left elbow, "She's the other sixth year Prefect for Gryffindor."

"Lovely girl," Remus added, "Just don't get on her bad side."

"Like Sirius?" Lily murmured, watching as Marlene threatened Sirius's disembowelment with a bowl of mashed potatoes.

"Like Sirius," he agreed. "Come on, let's go sit down."

Remus and Peter led the two girls to their usual spot near the middle of the table, while James and Sirius tried to placate the terribly pissed off Marlene.

"So, how's the food at Beauxbatons?" Peter asked, piling his plate with everything that was within his reach.

"Erm...well, not as good as this," Alice said, watching with a disgusted fascination as the boy all but inhaled his food.

"And the waiters were never this good at hiding themselves," Lily added, looking around the hall.

"Waiters?" Sirius asked as he and a rather grumpy James rejoined them. "Liam my dear, Hogwarts has no waiters."

"Really?" Lily frowned. "Then how does all the food get onto the table?"

"Magic," Sirius grinned.

Lily rolled her eyes. Even at Hogwarts, there were smartasses.

"Excuse me?" Someone tapped Lily on he shoulder. A little startled, she turned around in her seat to come face to face with the short girl from before.

"Hi," Lily smiled hesitantly.

"Hello! My name is Marlene McKinnon!" The girl said rather cheerfully, especially considering her disposition just a few minutes ago. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier, but something else was on my mind," here she threw Sirius a very crippling glare.

"Anyway, Professor Dumbledore told me about the transfers. You must be Liam Evans, the red-head," Marlene stuck out a hand which Lily shook in a daze, "And you must be Alex Chevalier," Alice too, shook hands with the bubbly girl.

"Love your last name, by the way; very French. So, if you two need anything, just come find me! Or Remus, he's the other Prefect. And I'll introduce Dylan to your friend...Jo Fournier, right? Dylan's one of the fifth year Prefects. Anyway, don't be afraid to ask for help, whether it be for directions or for homework! I'll catch you guys 'round!" And with that, Marlene McKinnon flounced away.

Though Peter was far too engrossed in his meal to have noticed anything other than what was on the other end of his fork, James, Sirius and Remus burst into laughter at the looks on Lily's and Alice's face.

"Yeah, she has that affect on most of us," Remus grinned.

.

_Okay, so that was pretty much just a filler chapter, with everyone being introduced and whatnot. Never fear – Quidditch is on its way here! Oh, and I must warn you again that this is a Quidditch-centric fic, which means that anyone who complains about too much Quidditch shall be ignored. Obviously, there's going to be other things, but Quidditch is the drive of the story._

_Anyway, that was just a heads up for the future chapters._

_**Please **__**REVIEW**__! Tell me what I did well, and what I need to work on!_

_And as always, thanks for reading!_

_Love Chariots99_

_PS – I couldn't resist the AVPS reference! Did you pick up on it?_


	4. The Practice Match

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Chapter 4 – The Practice Match**

Dinner passed with a lot of staring, and a lot more people coming up and introducing themselves to the 'Transfers'. That's right, Lily and her gang had officially been dubbed. And she could freely blame Sirius for starting it.

"This way, we don't need to say five names when referring to you guys and your friends," he'd explained, like it had been the most logical thing in the world. "It's like us four; when people talk about us, they just have to say 'the Marauders'. Easy, heh?"

Jo, who had joined their group along with Albert Parkers (the boy they'd left her with), had frowned thoughtfully at Sirius's comment.

"Why Marauders? Isn't a 'marauder' like an outlaw, or a mercenary who lives off looting from others?" She had asked, much to James' amusement.

Sirius had just smirked. "My dear Fournier, that's for us to know, and you to never find out."

They had met up briefly with Violet and Michaela, and had introduced them to the Marauders and Albert, before the eight of made their way back to Gryffindor tower, only to find Professor McGonagall waiting for them at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Ah, Mr Evans, Mr Chevalier, Mr Fournier," she greeted when they reached her.

"Bonsoir Professor," Lily replied politely.

"Minnie!" Sirius shouted with delight. "How're you doin'?"

Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared sharply. "Mr Black, kindly enter the common room before you say something that will force me to deduct points from my own House."

"It's only the third week back! We don't have that many points for you do deduct!" Sirius exclaimed, before Remus grabbed the boy's arm.

"Excuse us, Professor," he said politely. At McGonagall's nod, the portrait swung open and Remus dragged Sirius into Gryffindor tower, with James, Peter and Albert following along, with barely hidden smirks on their faces.

"Now that that's sorted," McGonagall sighed, before turning to the three girls. "How has your first day been?"

"Rather hectic," Lily answered, ignoring the looks Alice and Jo exchanged, "But we've only been here for a few hours, so I guess we're still news."

McGonagall nodded in understanding. "Now, I have your timetables here...Mr Evans...Mr Chevalier, hang on, no that one's Mr Fournier's...this is yours. Right, there are a couple of changes you should be aware of. 'Creature Studies' is known as 'Care of Magical Creatures'. 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' is a combination of 'Duelling', 'Hexes and Curses', and 'Study of Dark Arts'. Have one of the Prefects show you to your classrooms; the castle is big, and I do not enjoy late-comers to my classes. Any questions?"

"No Professor," Lily smiled, "Merci."

"My pleasure. I'll see the three of you in class."

"Au revoir Professor!" Alice grinned, before the three entered the common room (the painting had swung open as soon as McGonagall had left).

"What was that about?" James asked, the minute Lily and Alice walked into their dorms (after dropping Jo and Albert off).

"Timetables," Lily said, holding hers up. It was immediately snatched off her by Sirius.

"You're taking Arithmancy?" He asked, dismayed, "And I thought you were cool!"

"Hey!" Remus snapped. "_I_ take Arithmancy, in case you've forgotten."

"But you make it work for you," Sirius said, handing Lily back her timetable, "It fits your 'I'm-so-boring-that-it's-cool' personality."

Remus just rolled his eyes.

As they were getting ready for bed, James swung by and accosted Lily and Alice.

"I'm holding Quidditch trials next Saturday," he said, "Come along; bring your friend. You guys do have brooms right?"

"Of course!" Alice said, sounding completely insulted.

"Just making sure," James said with a good-natured smile. "I'm putting up the announcement on Wednesday, but I wanted to give you guys a heads up, so you can get used to the environment and whatnot. I can take you guys down to the pitch for some practice if you like."

"Oh, okay!" Lily said, surprised by the boy's generosity. "That'd be great!"

"Cool," James smiled, "I might bring some of the boys along so we can have a scrimmage."

"Is this Gryffindors only, or can we invite friends?" Alice asked.

"Hm...inter-house might be more fun. I'll ask Frank," James decided. "Now, best you get to sleep; easier to pretend you saw nothing. And draw your curtains too."

James left Lily and Alice to exchange nervous glances. Almost simultaneously, the two got into their respective beds and drew their curtains shut.

Lily's last thought before she fell asleep, listening to the Marauders' quiet murmurs, was that she could get used to this.

.

"Rise and shine fellow Quidditch playing Transfers! It's a beautiful day; the birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the giant squid is playing fetch with the Whomping Willow. Perfect conditions for a Quidditch game!"

Lily groaned as the curtains around her bed were yanked open. A bright ray of sunlight shone directly into her eyes, momentarily blinding her. When she regained her sight, it was only to see a pair of hazel eyes, framed by thin rimmed glasses, blinking inches away from her face.

"Potter," Lily said, deadpanned.

"The Transfer awakes!" James announced.

"Shut up, Prongs!" Came the voice of a rather grumpy-sounding Remus Lupin. Snoring filled the background of the dormitory – it appeared that little Peter Pettigrew was _very_ a heavy sleeper.

"No can do, Moony," James said cheerfully, "If you knew Quidditch, you would understand why."

The soft, muffled grumbling that followed made Lily think Remus had hidden his head beneath his pillow. James turned back to her.

"Grab your broom Evans, and let's get moving!"

Half an hour later, Lily, Alice and Jo (who had been woken up by being shoved out of her bed – courtesy of Sirius) stood on the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch for the very first time, their jaws slack in awe.

It was so...grand looking...with the four house colours decorating the four spectator stands that rose high up into the sky.

"Wish they had this at Beauxbatons," Alice muttered. Lily and Jo nodded fervently in agreement.

"Jo! Alex! Liam!"

Lily spun around to see Violet and Michaela running up to them, bright smiles on their faces. Behind the two were several members of the Hufflepuff house, as evidenced by their yellow ties.

"James! Ready to get your ass handed to you on a platter?"

James laughed. "You wish Frank! You wish!"

Frank grinned, before catching sight of Lily and her friends. "Well, well, well! You three must be the rest of the Transfers. Frank Longbottom, Head Boy. Nice to meet you."

"Li-Liam Evans. And these are my friends; Alex Chevalier and Jo Fournier."

"Hello," Alice said politely.

"Enchante," Jo added.

"Alright guys! Gather 'round!" James shouted. "Frank, who's the Captain for Hufflepuff this year?"

"Robert."

"Robert Finch? The guy in my year?" James asked, looking around. "Where is he?"

Frank grimaced as the other Hufflepuffs began to laugh. "We couldn't wake him up this morning...so..."

"He's still asleep," Sirius finished, grinning, "Brilliant role model, ain't he?"

James frowned. 'You got enough players then?"

"Well, with the two transfers...yes."

Alright, let's get to it then!" James exclaimed to general roars of approval. "Beaters! Come forth to claim your beating sticks!"

"Bats, Prongs," Sirius said, grabbing his out of James' hands, "They're called bats...hang on, where's Sam?"

"Still in the dorms," James shrugged, handing two bats to the Hufflepuff beaters. "He was fine with giving the Transfers a practice. Same with Brody and Luke."

"So who's my partner then?"

"Moi," Jo grinned, accepting her bat.

"But you're puny enough to be a seeker!" Sirius cried.

"Hey!" Michaela protested. "I resent that!"

"Moving on," James interrupted loudly, "Thomas, you still good with being seeker?"

Thomas Shepherdson, a seventh year Gryffindor, raised an eyebrow. "James, I've been Gryffindor's seeker for five years now. I think I can handle it."

"Just checking. Okay...so me, Liam and Alex are chasers. Frank...if Rob's asleep, then you're a chaser down."

The Head Boy frowned at his team, before beckoning a brunette forwards. "Matthew, you good with chaser?"

"Sure," Matthew said.

"Hang on," Thomas said, "Weren't you keeper last year."

"Yeah," Matthew shrugged, "But I can pretty much play all the positions. Except beater – can't hit things too well."

"So, I take it Transfer over there's a keeper?"

"Yes," Violet answered, "And you are..."

"That's Albert," Jo said, clapping her new friend on the shoulder, "He's the resident keeper. But you'll always be the best in my mind...until he proves himself," she added cheekily.

"Well, now that the pleasantries are over," James grinned. He kicked the Quidditch crate that had been lying by his feet. Immediately, two deadly bludgers shot out and up into the sky. The snitch was then let loose, where it completely disappeared from sight.

"Frank. Quaffle or goals?" James asked, picking up the red ball.

"Those goals," Frank said, pointing at the goals that were out of the morning sun's path.

James shrugged, tossing the quaffle to Lily before mounting his broom. "Ready guys? Okay, let's roll."

Simultaneously, fourteen players soared upwards, dispersing to their positions. When they reached a certain height, Lily suddenly pelted forwards, quaffle tucked under her arm. Without even looking, she knew that Alice was following her like a shadow.

So when Frank Longbottom suddenly swerved in from nowhere, lunging for the quaffle, Lily merely tossed the red ball to her left, where Alice caught it at once before shooting off.

"Wow! How did you know he was there?" Frank asked, amazed.

"Practice," Lily grinned.

"Alright Evans!" James shouted, clapping Lily on the back before taking off after Alice. There was a strange tingling sensation from the contact, but Lily shrugged it off before also chasing after her friend. There was really no need though; Alice had dodged Violet with the ease that came from years of playing with the other girl.

"Score!" Alice shouted triumphantly.

Matthew took the quaffle, shooting off towards the opposite goals. And then James was there, diving down at the boy, ripping the quaffle right out of his hands.

"Catch!" James shouted, ditching the red ball at Lily. The quaffle landed with a firm _thunk_ in her hands, before she was off again, speeding towards the goals, well aware of the Hufflepuff chasers on her tail.

_Whoosh_.

Lily ducked, narrowly avoiding the bludger that had come rather close to taking her head off. And then Jo dived past, annoyed that someone had aimed for her friend.

_Whack!_

The bludger connected with Jo's bat, before it was sent careening into the Hufflepuff beater, who was almost knocked clean off his broom.

"Nice!" Sirius shouted, impressed, "Good aim, Fournier!"

"Merci," Jo grinned.

Alice grabbed the quaffle, shooting off with Lily, while James tried to delay the Hufflepuff chasers. Unfortunately, he missed Frank, who came pelting headfirst into Alice's side.

He and Alice went spinning, both still grappling desperately for the quaffle. Frank managed to tear it out of Alice's hands, and he sped off. Alice growled dangerously under her breath, before flattening herself onto her broom, and shooting off after the boy.

She flew in on one side, while Lily closed in on the other.

The last thing Frank would've saw before the quaffle left his hands was Alice's arm heading straight for him. The next moment, the red ball had been knocked sideways, and caught by Lily who passed it to James. Alice took the time to give Frank the finger, before racing off after her chasers.

Together, the three weaved in and out of the Hufflepuff chasers, the quaffle continuously exchanging hands. When they reached Violet and the goals, James raised his arm and threw the quaffle...only to have Violet hit it away...straight into Lily's waiting arms.

She feinted left, causing Violet to dive in anticipation, before lobbing the quaffle back to James, who tossed it towards the goals with a quick flick of his wrist...and scored.

"Yes!" He shouted, punching the air in victory.

And then, suddenly, the two seekers went headfirst into a dive. All game stopped as the players cheered on their respective seekers.

"Go Thomas!" James shouted.

"Come on, Lefevre!" Frank yelled.

The two seekers swerved around each other, following the path of the snitch, intense concentration painted on their faces...and then Michaela pulled out of the dive, the snitch clutched triumphantly in her hand.

The Hufflepuffs erupted into cheers, while the Gryffindors groaned good-naturedly. But it was just as James said, when they'd all landed back on the ground.

"We'll get you guys when it actually counts."

.

_Ahh...the first Quidditch game of many. _

_So, what did you guys think? I would really appreciate it if you told me how the Quidditch match was. Did it live up to your expectations? How can I improve it? __**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_Once again, thanks for reading!_

_And stay tuned for more Quidditch!_

_Love Chariots99_


	5. The War Begins

Just a little guide...

Lily Evans = Liam Evans (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Alice Chevalier = Alex Chevalier (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Violet Hastings = Brett Hastings (Keeper) 5th year Hufflepuff

Michaela Lefevre = Michael Lefevre (Seeker) 4th year Hufflepuff

Joanna Fournier = Jo Fournier (Beater) 5th year Gryffindor

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED REVIEWS AND SUPPORT! HUGS AND KISSES TO ALL!

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Chapter Five – The War Begins...**

Lily's first week at Hogwarts was interesting to say the least. For starters, the castle was so different to the one she'd grown up in. The stairs moved, for Merlin's sake! Along with that, were the doors pretending to be walls, and walls pretending to be doors, and mirrors doing Merlin-knows-what.

There were also more portraits in one room than Lily had ever had to deal with in her entire time at Beauxbatons. Plenty of the portraits were helpful. Some were rather rude. And there were a few that were just downright wacky.

Then of course, there were the ghosts. Lily had learnt early on that Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, the resident Gryffindor ghost who was apparently more well-known as "Nearly Headless Nick", was extremely helpful to all the Transfers, even the ones not in his house.

On the other hand, there was Peeves. The poltergeist. And really, it was Peeves whom Lily had to blame for starting the whole fiasco between Alice Chevalier and Frank Longbottom.

Well, perhaps that was a lie – after all, Alice hadn't forgiven the Head Boy for stealing the quaffle off her so roughly during their practice match, and had made it a point to treat the boy with glares and cold silences.

But Peeves was responsible for inflaming the already tense waters between the two.

It all started on Wednesday...

Lily woke up with a groan. Wednesday was her fullest day yet, according to her timetable anyway. Arithmancy, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions! And no breaks in between!

"Alice," Lily hissed, perhaps not too wisely. "Alice, wake up!"

Alice moaned softly. "Five more minutes..." she murmured, burying her head into her pillow.

"Come on! I'm hungry!" Lily said, shaking her friend's shoulders.

"I swear you're developing a guy's appetite."

"Oi! Alex! Liam! You guys coming or what?" Sirius shouted from the doorway.

Lily sighed, shaking her head at Alice's pathetic expression. "No, you go on without us, we'll catch up later."

"Okay then!" And with that, the four noisy boys were out of the room, whispering to each other in hushed tones.

Lily turned back to Alice, who was dragging herself out of bed.

"We're going to be late because of you," Lily said, though she was more amused than anything, "And if I miss breakfast, I won't be able to concentrate properly."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Alice grumbled, putting her robes on.

"Erm...Alice?" Lily said, stopping her friend as she started walking out of the dorms. "You may want this."

Lily handed over Alice's wand to the sheepish girl, before the two made their way out of Gryffindor Tower. It took a while for them to get to the front hall ("Damn, why do all these staircases have to move?"), and Lily was getting quite anxious that breakfast would end without them. When they finally reached the entrance to the Great Hall, it was only to find a mass of students hurrying away, drenched in everything from pumpkin juice to gobbleberry jam.

Alice suddenly stumbled forwards as someone shoved into her. "Hey, watch it, Longbottom!" She snapped massaging her shoulder.

Frank merely smirked back over his shoulder as he made his way into the chaos ridden Great Hall. "Get a life, Chevalier."

Alice growled under her breath, and lunged after the Head Boy, Lily desperately trying to keep up. The tide of students kept pushing her back, and she got separated from Alice, who got separated from Frank, who had finally discovered the source of the food fight.

And for once, it wasn't the Marauders' fault (though they had gotten in on the action rather quickly).

No, right there, hovering above the panicking students, armed with a jug filled to the brim with pumpkin juice, was the madly cackling Peeves.

Frank was currently trying to instate his power as Head Boy. And he was failing. Peeves listened to no-one (well, except the Bloody Baron and Dumbledore), so all Frank received was a head full of the aforementioned juice.

That was probably when the trouble really started.

Peeves dived down, grabbing several buns from the Ravenclaw table, and began chucking them at the flailing students. Frank merely caught the one which had been aimed at his lower regions. He began chasing after Peeves, shaking the bun above his head.

And then Peeves grabbed a handful of gobbleberry jam, and lobbed it at the students again. It only hit one person...who turned out to be Alice.

The girl gasped, spinning around to face the perpetrator, and wiping the dark red jam out of her eyes in time to see a bun flying at her head. She ducked that, and looked up, eyes narrowed, at Frank, who still had his bun in his fist.

It was a very compromising situation. There was Frank, who had stood behind Peeves until the poltergeist flew up, bun in hand, arm raised as if he were about to throw it. And there was Alice, who had gotten a face full of jam, and barely missed the bun.

Alice, being the delightfully intelligent girl that she was, put two and two together, and managed to come up with the completely wrong culprit. Though, admittedly, all signs did point to that culprit being Frank.

"You!" She shouted, grabbing a full jug from the nearest table and advancing on the suddenly frightened-looking boy.

"Lefevre, wait!" He said frantically, waving his arms around, "Hang on! I can explain!"

"Do you think I _need_ an explanation for this?" Alice hissed.

One moment, Frank opened his mouth to respond; the next, his mouth, along with the rest of his face, had gotten a bath from the freezing milk that had been in the jug. Frank choked, and began spluttering and coughing, while Alice pelted the boy with the buns and bacon stacked on the table.

And that was the scene Lily witnessed when she finally managed to fight her way through the milling crowd of students.

"Ali-Alex!" Lily cried, "Stop it! Stop! Just...just put the bread down!"

Alice turned her glare on Lily, but the red-head merely grabbed her friend's wrist and wrestled the bun out of her grip. Then she turned on the pumpkin juice and milk soaked Frank, who had bread crumbs littering his hair, and oily streaks from the bacon.

"You must've done something to make Alex go off at you," Lily sighed, helping the Head Boy up.

"It wasn't me!"

Alice snorted. "Yeah, sure."

And with that, the girl spun and stomped away.

.

That was not the only incident between Alice and Frank, but it was the one that stood out the most. There were minor things, like breaking quills, throwing parchment, spilling ink onto robes. Oh, and Alice somehow managed to transfigure Frank into a giant canary when they were passing each other in the corridor.

He moulted within the minute, and once Professor McGonagall had confirmed that no lasting harm had been caused, she'd awarded Alice ten points for great spell work. Then she'd taken away fifteen for using magic in the corridors.

And when Robert Finch, the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, had held his tryouts, Alice had hidden away Frank's broom. The Head Boy had gone into complete panic mode until the broom had been spotted up at the Astronomy Tower.

The Marauders had found the war between their fellow sixth year student and the Head Boy to be completely hilarious. In fact, it had been they who'd helped smuggle Alice into the Hufflepuff dorms so that she could smuggle away the previously mentioned broomstick in the first place.

There appeared to be no end to the war, which had the Hufflepuffs backing Frank, the Gryffindors back Alice, the Ravenclaws staying out of it, and the Slytherins trying to trip both up at once.

Peeves, fully realising that he'd been the cause of the rivalry between the two, had whizzed around the castle, madly cackling with glee. Everywhere he went, parchments were left scattered, tables left overturned. In short, it was complete and utter chaos.

So when Friday finally came 'round and the week was close to ending, Lily breathed a sigh of relief. She should've known then that the universe was against her.

.

"Liam, pass the pumpkin juice?" James asked. Lily slid the jug down the table, before returning to her breakfast.

The Quidditch captain had posted on Thursday (a day later than he'd planned) that tryouts would be on Saturday, and the results would come up Sunday morning. Since then, the boy had been surrounded by hopefuls, all trying to suck up to the captain so they may be favoured over others.

Like now; there were a crowd of people surrounding James that made it impossible for him to eat his breakfast in peace. Sirius and Remus were late, and Peter was so focussed on his meal, he probably wouldn't notice if the Great Hall suddenly burst into flames. And Alice was...well, probably off tormenting Frank again.

"...so, I got this new broom just last month," one of the hopefuls were saying.

James nodded, looking on with feigned interest while waiting for someone to rescue him.

"Yeah, it goes so smoothly!"

"Prongs!"

James' head snapped up so fast, Lily swore she heard a crack. Sirius and Remus had entered the Hall, and were making their way towards the harried boy.

"Alright guys, clear out!" Sirius barked, "Let the man have some space!"

"How're you doing?" Remus asked, taking a seat next to James.

"I'm fine. Just...really wishing tryouts were over and done with," James smiled weakly, as Sirius sat on James' other side to ward off any potential suck-ups.

"Mail's here," he said, looking up at the pack of owls that suddenly flooded the Great Hall. "D'you reckon your mum will send something?"

"Dunno," James said, squinting up at the owls, "Maybe...oh, hang on. Yeah, I think she did."

One of the owls, brown with black flecks, suddenly swooped down towards him, landing on his breakfast and nibbling his fingers in greeting.

"Hey Leo," James grinned, extracting his hand and removing the letter.

Lily rolled her eyes. Figures that the Gryffindor would name his owl "Leo".

"Wassup, Leo!" Sirius exclaimed, holding out his finger for Leo to nibble on too.

"Sirius, don't encourage him," James sighed, unfolding the letter.

"What's it say?"

"I don't know, I've only gotten up to the '_Dear James and Sirius'_ bit."

"Well, read it faster!"

"I would if you'd just stop bugging me!"

"So Liam," Remus said, turning away from his squabbling friends, "I don't mean to pry, but I notice that you haven't gotten any mail from your family."

"Yeah, well, we don't really send each other letters that often," Lily shrugged.

"You can use school owls, if that's the issue," Remus suggested.

Lily smiled. "Yeah, I did that on the first night. It's just...well, you see...my parents live apart, and neither are home that often. And they're both muggles," she added, "So, it would be a little suspicious if an owl suddenly flew into their work and dropped off a letter."

"I see your point," Remus nodded. "I myself don't send letters all too often either. Usually once a month is good enough. So, how's Hogwarts compared with Beauxbatons?"

"It's much better," Lily grinned. "More fun. We never had moving staircases, or talking armour. Or a tree that lashes out at people who get too close."

Remus suddenly shivered. "Yeah, it does that. So, do you have any siblings?"

Lily blinked at the abrupt change in subject. "Uh, yeah, I've got an older sister. Annoying as hell, but at least she doesn't live with me anymore."

Before Remus could comment, a huge roar erupted from outside the Hall. James and Sirius exchanged glances before they both took off, dragging Peter along with them, while Remus and Lily followed.

The teachers too, were making their way out, but they weren't exactly that close to the doors.

Lily stopped short when she took in the scene outside. A huge ring of students surrounded a pair of students, both of whom had their wands drawn and pointed at each other. It took a while for Lily to realise that it was in fact Alice and Frank.

"Can't that girl keep out of trouble for one second?" Lily muttered under her breath. It was very lucky that the cheers of the crowd drowned out her voice, for James was standing rather close to her and would definitely have heard. That would have been an awkward thing to try and explain.

Together, they fought their way to the front, where Lily could now see the damage each had inflicted on the other. She shut her eyes, hoping it was a dream, before opening them to reality again.

Alice now sported an afro. A bright, Hufflepuff yellow, afro. Meanwhile Frank now had rapidly growing eyebrows that were constantly blocking his view as he circled Alice. Oh, and his eyebrows were also now a bold red.

By some unspoken signal, the two sprung into action again. Bright lights flashed past each other as they dodged then attacked.

"Move aside!" Professor McGonagall's voice came through loud and clear. The students parted, giving McGonagall a clear path to walk through. "Go on, classes are about to begin!"

Grumbling, the students left, constantly looking back to see what was about to happen. Finally, it was only the Marauders, Lily, Alice, Frank and some of Frank's friends left.

"I really cannot believe this," McGonagall hissed, "This is completely _disgusting_ behaviour! Mr Longbottom, you ought to know better! You are the _Head Boy_! It is your duty to set a good example for the rest of the students! And Mr Lefevre! I know you are new, but this is unacceptable! To the Headmaster's office! Both of you! And twenty points from both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff!"

Alice and Frank left in silence, avoiding all eye contact with each other. When Professor McGonagall spun on Lily and her friends, they quickly took their leave.

Once they were out of earshot, James let out a low whistle. "Man, I've _never_ seen Frank so fired up before!"

Lily sighed. "Wish I could say the same for Alex. He's got a rather volatile temper."

In the end, both Alice and Frank were let off with nothing more than a warning. It seemed that Professor Dumbledore was rather lax when it came to punishments. That was probably why McGonagall had taken those points away in the first place.

.

_You may have noticed that I shifted the rivalry from Lily and James (canon) to Alice and Frank. Why, you may ask? Well, I just thought that Lily hated James because he kept making passes at her, and trying to impress her, and beating up on her best friend. If James didn't know Lily was a girl, and if Lily didn't befriend Snape, then there should be no reason for a rift between the two._

_That's just my thinking, anyway. Let me know what you think! __**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_Love Chariots99_


	6. The Tryouts

Just a little guide...

Lily Evans = Liam Evans (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Alice Chevalier = Alex Chevalier (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Violet Hastings = Brett Hastings (Keeper) 5th year Hufflepuff

Michaela Lefevre = Michael Lefevre (Seeker) 4th year Hufflepuff

Joanna Fournier = Jo Fournier (Beater) 5th year Gryffindor

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED REVIEWS AND SUPPORT! HUGS AND KISSES TO ALL!

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Chapter Six – The Tryouts**

Saturday dawned bright and clear. Lily woke to the tension and anticipation she'd learnt to expect before Quidditch games. The adrenaline was pumping through her as she finished her breakfast with Alice and Jo.

The tryouts were here.

There was a mass of people out on the Quidditch pitch. Not just those who were trying out, but spectators too. It almost seemed like the entire Gryffindor house had turned up to see their new team be chosen.

It was easy to tell old players apart from hopefuls. For one, they were those who weren't surrounding James. They were also the ones who stood with the most confidence.

"Alright guys, gather 'round!" James shouted, waving his arms. "It's a big turnout today, so this may just take all morning. If you are not in Gryffindor house, please leave the pitch this instant."

Judging by the calm tone James was talking with, this was normal occurrence during tryouts. And sure enough, a small gang of Slytherins and a pair of Hufflepuffs slipped away.

"Right," James sighed, "In a moment, I'd like you all to split into groups of ten. I don't care who you go with, this will be an initial test of whether or not you can actually fly."

By some pre-arranged agreement, what appeared to be last year's team all ganged together. Siriu beckoned for Alice, Lily and Jo to join them; when they did, he whispered: "James wants us out of the way first since he knows we can stay on a broom."

When all the groups were made, theirs turned out to be the only one without ten people. James motioned for them to go first.

Sirius set the fast pace which the rest of their group kept up. One lap around the pitch; that was the initial test. And hopefully they'd just saved some time with their speed. And then, they just sat back and watched the others wobble their way around the pitch.

"Hey, you're Liam Evans, right?"

Lily looked up to see a friendly face smiling down at her. She returned the smile. "Yes. And you?"

"I'm Luke Filcher," he said, shaking her hand and dropping down next to her, "I was one of last year's chasers."

"Oh!"

"Yeah. But, I just wanted to let you know that I don't mind if you get my spot," Luke said. "NEWTS are coming up, and I've got a feeling that I'll be spending most of my time studying. James...he's great and all, but he can be a real slave driver."

"Uh-huh," Lily nodded slowly.

"So I'm just saying that, you know, don't feel bad or anything. I would've pulled out of the team entirely if there were actually decent players. But the way James went on about you and your friend, I think I can sit back and leave the team in good hands," Luke smiled.

"I see...but you'll still try your best, right?" Lily asked. "I mean, I don't want to get the spot because it was given to me. I want to –"

"Earn it," Luke finished. "I said the same thing to the chaser I replaced. And don't worry – if you're not up to par, I'll do all I can to get you kicked off."

"Deal," Lily grinned. "So, who was the other chaser last year?"

"Besides James? There was Brody Link...he's that kid over there, with the funny glasses," Luke pointed out, "He's fifth year. Not that good at Quidditch I must say, but a very bright kid, very fast learner. And very dedicated. Probably doesn't hurt that he treats James like a God," Luke added with a grin.

"Huh."

"Oh, he's calling us again," Luke said, standing up.

James had somehow found himself a rather tall box, which he was now standing on so that he could be seen easier. Though it really wasn't needed, since most of the hopefuls had been turned away, leaving a much emptier pitch and much more people in the stands.

"Right guys, congrats on passing stage one," James said. "Stage two is when we're actually going to have some game. Can everyone who's trying out for seeker go off the field for now? Great, thanks guys. Now, chasers, please stand over there. Beaters, stand by Sirius. And Keepers, right here."

There was a pause while the gathered shuffled themselves around.

"Awesome," James smiled, "Now, we're going to play a game. I'm going to keep rotating you guys around until I find the perfect fit. So...this will take a while." Suddenly his expression turned serious. "If you have somewhere more 'important' to be, you may as well leave now."

No-one moved, which caused James to start smiling again. "Great!"

He came through each group, splitting them up into two teams. Lily was partnered with Brody, the fifth year chaser, while Alice was put with Luke. There was a fifth tryout chaser, Isaac Boase – he had to sit out and wait to be rotated on.

Jo was partnered with Sam, who had been Sirius's partner the previous year. Sirius was left on his own, and put into Alice's team; James said that this way he could see both the partnership, and the individual strength.

There were only two keepers. Albert, the returning keeper, and Callum, the hopeful. Lily got Albert, while Alice got Callum.

"Alright guys, on my whistle!" James shouted, pulling out a silver whistle from thin air. He blew it, and the spectators began to cheer.

_Really_, Lily thought as she took to the air,_ This is a lot like a real game. Just, minus a chaser_.

Brody had the quaffle tucked tight under his arm, and he was shooting towards Callum, with Lily acting as his second shadow.

He passed to Lily in order to dodge the bludger, who then passed it back. Lily had to slow down slightly each time; she'd noticed that the boy's reflexes weren't that great, and his confidence at throwing and catching were lacking too.

And then, Luke appeared from nowhere, swerving in front of the boy, and grabbing the quaffle.

Lily growled, swinging around to meet the seventh year chaser. He sent her a smirk when she randomly dived down; and a moment later, a bludger knocked the quaffle straight out of his hands and into Lily's.

"Wha –?" Luke glanced around wildly, to see Jo grinning broadly at him, beater's bat raised high. He shook his head with a smile, before pelting off after Lily again.

There was a soft whistling sound, and a dark shape looming from the corner of her eye. Without warning, Lily rolled over on her broom, sending Alice shooting past her.

"Nice try!" Lily shouted.

"Bring it!" Alice retorted, her eyes alight at the challenge.

The two girls swerved in and out, completely shutting Brody and Luke out of their battle for the quaffle. In retrospect, that was probably a rude thing to do, but in the heat of the moment they'd reverted back into their very familiar practice drills.

Sirius, seeing the battle, decided to help his team. There was a great _bang_ as he whacked a bludger towards Lily.

"Oh, no you don't!" Jo shouted. "Sam, catch!"

Jo hit the second bludger to Sam who, anticipating Jo's plan, hit it directly towards the bludger Sirius had sent. The midair collision sent both bludgers spinning out of control, but also away from their intended targets.

"Sam, you traitor!" Sirius shouted, though there was humour in his voice.

"Too bad!"

The huge roar from the crowd indicated that Lily had just scored – the keeper, Callum, had flown off in completely the wrong direction.

James blew the whistle, and motioned for all players to descend. "That was great, guys! Now, we're going to shift you around. Evans, could you sit out so Isaac can have a turn?"

Lily shrugged, and walked over to the seats while Isaac joined the ranks.

James left the keepers where they were – well, there really wasn't much to change about them anyway. But he did partner Brody with Alice, something which caused Lily to wince; Alice had a hard throw, and with Brody's skill – or rather, lack thereof – the boy would definitely be getting bruises. Jo was left on her own to face off against last year's best beater partnership.

The players took off again, Alice with the quaffle. She spun upside-down to avoid Sirius's bludger, before ditching the quaffle at Brody. Lily cringed when the boy dropped the quaffle upon impact, massaging his fingers as he flew off after Luke, who'd intercepted the red ball.

Lily could almost see Alice fuming at her partner as she set off again.

A bludger went pelting towards Luke, who barely managed to avoid it. He scowled up at Jo – that was twice now that she'd aimed for him. The girl merely smiled innocently back.

And then, the second bludger was heading her way. Jo knocked it away with a glare at Sirius, who shrugged and pointed at Sam. The message was clear: _It was his idea_. Jo just rolled her eyes before whacking a bludger back.

Alice had intercepted the quaffle from Isaac's hands; she was now shooting towards Albert, determination on her face. She dodged one bludger, and Jo deflected the other...she feinted left...and threw the quaffle...

And scored.

Albert had managed to brush the quaffle with his fingers, but it hadn't been enough.

James blew the whistle again, and beckoned Lily forwards.

"Right, I want to see what the Transfers can do," he said, "Brody, you mind sitting off? Thanks. Now, Luke and Isaac, stay together. Liam and Alex, with Jo and Sirius. Alright, let's go."

And once again, they were off. Lily and Alice exchanged smirks, before they suddenly shot forwards.

The quaffle was out of Luke's hands and in Alice's before the boy could even blink. Isaac chased after them, but try as he might, he could never intercept the quaffle. It exchanged hands between Lily and Alice so fast that it was like a red blur against the blue sky.

"Bloody hell!" He exclaimed, exasperated, "Can you read each others' minds or something?"

"Nope!" Alice shouted back, tossing the quaffle to Lily while looking in the opposite direction, "We're just really good!"

Seeing his team in strife, Sam pelted a bludger straight at Lily and Alice. Sirius, who'd been anticipating that move, flew in and intercepted the bludger, hitting it towards Jo who whacked it back at Sam who was forced to dodge or be thrown off his broom. Jo and Sirius exchanged triumphant grins.

Lily swerved, dropping the quaffle down to Alice, who swung around in midair and tossed it back to Lily. Callum flew forwards, arms raised, as Lily passed the quaffle to Alice once more.

The girl raised her arm to shoot, and Callum dived for her...and then the quaffle was soaring the wrong way. Alice had feinted at the goals, luring the keeper out; and now, Lily had a free shot, which she gladly took.

The whistle sounded once more, and the players all landed on the ground.

"Right, well, I think I've seen what I need to see from the chasers and beaters," James said, looking around at the panting players, "The keepers though...you guys weren't really tested. So, Albert, you first. Go up to those goals and guard them. All five chasers will attempt to score. Beaters...well, you guys are done."

Jo and Sam headed up to the stands to watch the rest of the tryouts, while Sirius stayed with James. The two began to discuss some important looking thing, as the rest of the players took off once more.

The keepers' test was pretty basic. Just a quaffle being tossed around, and chasers trying to score. It became pretty obvious that Albert was the better keeper, and would be keeping his position this year.

"Alright guys! Thank you all for coming! You're free to leave, while the seekers are tested," James said, looking rather harried, "I'll post the lists up tomorrow."

"You want to stay and watch?" Alice asked.

"It would be nice," Lily sighed, "But I've got that transfiguration essay I need to finish."

"And transfiguration is your worst subject, so you'll be taking all day with it," Alice said.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Well, I'll come with you. I've got to do the charms essay, and if you're there to help, my life is made much more easier," Alice grinned.

"So nice to know I'm appreciated," Lily muttered as the two girls made their way back to the castle, brooms in hand.

The rest of the day passed with much speculation among the Gryffindors about who would make the team, who played well, and who had no chance in hell. James was bombarded with questions, forcing the captain to hide away in his dorms while the rest of the Marauders ran interference.

When they finally came back, Sirius dropped onto his bed with a relieved sigh. "Mate, never thought I'd say this, but sometimes I wish I weren't so popular."

.

James was the first one to wake up the next morning, which really was a huge achievement. He quietly snuck out of his dorm and into the common room, where he posted up the list he'd spent most of the night writing. Then he went back to bed – well, in his defence, it was Sunday.

Alice was the next one to wake. For a moment, she was rather confused; usually, Lily was the one shaking her awake. Today though, she decided to return the favour.

Lily woke up with a startled shriek when a bucket full of icy-cold water was dumped on her head. As a result, the rest of the dorm woke up too.

"I'm going to bloody kill you," Lily muttered to Alice, drying herself off.

"I know," Alice smiled sweetly.

"All right, Chevalier!" Sirius exclaimed, giving Alice a high-five. "Nice job!"

"I'm going to kill him too," Lily added.

The six of them made their way to the common room, which was already packed with Gryffindors discussing the list, or trying to see it. As soon as they saw him, James was bombarded with annoyed students who didn't make the team, all demanding to know why. Being the great friends they were, the rest of the Marauders left James to deal with it by himself, while they dragged Lily and Alice off to see the lists.

"Yes, I made it!" Sirius shouted, upon seeing his name.

"We all knew you would," Peter pointed out.

"Hey, he got partnered with Jo!" Alice exclaimed.

"Well...that's interesting," Sirius shrugged, "Oh well, least Sam's reserve. Maybe I'll sit out some games just so he can play. It's his last year," he added defensively when Remus stared at him in shock.

Any reply he was going to make was cut off by Lily, who only just managed to stop herself squealing out loud. "We made chaser! We both made chaser!"

"Yes!" Alice grinned triumphantly.

"Well done," Remus smiled. "James told us it was a hard decision between putting you two on, or keeping last year's chasers. But he said this way was the righter choice."

"Wait – he told you about the lists?" Sirius frowned, "You don't even like Quidditch! How come he didn't tell me? James! Why didn't you tell me?" Sirius wailed, flouncing off to James and unknowingly rescuing the boy from a very irate Isaac.

"He didn't actually tell you, did he?" Lily asked, watching James trying to calm Sirius down.

Remus laughed. "No. But I can tell that's what he was thinking."

"D'you think we should rescue him?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, maybe."

And as Peter and Remus walked away, Alice turned to Lily with a very serious look in her eyes. "We made it."

"Yeah, we did," Lily breathed.

"Now, it begins."

.

_Yay for Quidditch! _

_Anyways, do you think the Gryffindor team was assembled right? Let me know!_

_**Please REVIEW!**_

_Oh, and for those who were wondering, yes, this Alice is the Alice who eventually marries Frank and gives birth to Neville. So no, she's not an OC. And neither is Lily (if you couldn't figure that out, I'd really recommend re-reading the HP books again...even though this is technically AU...point is, she's not an OC...)_

_Okay, thank you all for reading, and please leave a review!_

_Love Chariots99_


	7. Aunt Helga's Funeral

Just a little guide...

Lily Evans = Liam Evans (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Alice Chevalier = Alex Chevalier (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Violet Hastings = Brett Hastings (Keeper) 5th year Hufflepuff

Michaela Lefevre = Michael Lefevre (Seeker) 4th year Hufflepuff

Joanna Fournier = Jo Fournier (Beater) 5th year Gryffindor

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

Really glad you all liked the team! Thanks for reviewing, and let's get the story started!

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Chapter Seven – Aunt Helga's Funeral**

Lily's second week at Hogwarts passed without incident. Well, unless you count the goblet of pumpkin juice Alice "accidentally" dumped on Frank's head, and the spell that Frank "accidentally" shot at Alice which caused her front teeth to start growing at an alarming rate, and a pile of Frank's essays Alice "accidentally" lit on fire as the Head Boy was walking past. Other than that though, the week passed without incident.

Currently, Lily was in the common room, finishing a Transfiguration essay about _The Art of Conjuration_. It was rather quiet for Saturday evening, with the rest of the Gryffindors just sitting around, quietly chatting, or engaged in a lazy game of Gobstones.

"Hey Liam," James said, appearing out of nowhere and taking the seat next to Lily. "What'ya doing?"

"Essay," Lily said, frowning as she tried to remember some rather vague fact.

All her senses suddenly went on hyper alert when James leaned over her shoulder, and invading her personal bubble, to read her essay.

"Er...you've got that bit wrong," James said, pointing to one of Lily's earlier sentences. "'_Avifors_' isn't really an example of Conjuration, since it really doesn't conjure birds from thin air, but rather transfers the power of life into an object. A better example would be '_Avis_' – or at least, that's the one I used in my essay."

Lily looked at James with surprise. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome," James smiled, "Can't have you failing transfig, can I? Otherwise I'll be down one spectacular chaser. Now, finish up quickly – practice will be first thing tomorrow morning, and I don't want anyone falling off their brooms because they fell asleep in midair."

"Okay," Lily said, watching James go harass the rest of his new Quidditch team.

"So, having a bit of down-time with the captain?"

Lily jumped and spun to see Alice grinning very cheekily at her.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, blushing.

"It ain't a bad thing," Alice said, "He's hot, and it's good that you're responding like most females would."

"I think your brain's been addled by Frank's spell," Lily said.

Alice shrugged it off. "I think we need a girls' day out. We're all beginning to act like guys, and it can't be good for our disposition."

"This was your idea," Lily pointed out, scrubbing out her sentence and adding in the change James had suggested.

"Yeah I know," Alice said, watching her friend getting riled up over her essay, "But you seriously need a time out."

.

"Liam. _Liam_."

Someone was shaking Lily very violently. She grumbled something that should've resembled "Five more minutes," before turning over and burying her head in her pillow.

"Liam, wake up now!"

And suddenly, cold water drenched her.

Lily sat up with a choked yell, glaring at the chuckling James who turned to the more difficult task of waking Sirius up. Alice was already changed, and sat on her bed grinning at Lily's drenched figure.

"You may want to get changed," she whispered, "You're PJs are a little see-through."

That got Lily up and moving. It was only after they'd left Gryffindor Tower that she realised her PJs were black specifically to eliminate the chances of them turning see-through.

"Alright team," James said, standing in front of all his players as they took their seats in the common room. "This is the first practice of this year, so I thought I'd book the pitch nice and early to eliminate the possibility of spying Slytherins...and others.

"This year we have three new players. Most of you saw how well they flew in our practice match against Hufflepuff. So I don't want anyone doubting their abilities, and trying to sabotage our team. Got it? Good.

"Our first match will be in three weeks, which is why I've scheduled our tryouts a little later than Slytherin and Ravenclaw, who will be playing next weekend. And, our first match is against Hufflepuff."

This pronouncement was met with a round of cheers and shouts of "Payback time!"

"Exactly," James nodded once everyone had calmed down. "I want to make sure that we have the upper hand this time, which means that you, Thomas, will be working very, _very_ hard."

Despite being older than James, the Gryffindor seeker gulped and cowered back slightly at the look James was giving him. The rest of the team shot him sympathetic looks.

"I do not want you losing the snitch to that Transfer seeker again, got it?"

"Yes."

"Good," James smiled. "Okay, I've just got the list of Hufflepuff's team. So the three chasers will be Robert, Frank and Matthew."

"Matthew?" Sirius frowned, "I thought he was playing chaser just to give the Transfer keeper a chance to practice?"

"Well apparently Robert decided that he made a better chaser than he did keeper," James shrugged, "But it's good news for us, since that means Charles is no longer on the team."

"He was their strongest chaser," Albert Parkers whispered to Lily. "Everyone was shocked when he wasn't made captain."

"_Anyway_, the two beaters are Cody and Matty, like last year. The two Transfers also made the team. Which means that only you three know how they play," James added, pointing at Lily, Alice and Jo. "Which also means that your loyalty to them no longer exists out on the Quidditch pitch."

"Aye aye, capt'n," Jo grinned, giving James a mock salute.

"Okay, that's about it. So today we'll be working on some new drills I devised over the holidays with Sirius, which should get you guys back into playing condition. Practice will be held three times during the week, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, as well as Sunday mornings until lunch," James said, causing the entire team to groan. "So, any questions? No? Good, then let's get going."

If asked to comment on her first ever training session with the boys, Lily would have to say that they seemed to go all out, pushing themselves to the limit even just for the warm-ups. Maybe they were always like this, maybe it was James' driving force, or maybe they were trying to show the Transfers just how Hogwarts differed from Beauxbatons.

Either way, Lily had a hard time keeping up with them.

"I thought I was fit," she muttered to Alice as they took a break.

"I know," she whispered back.

"Alright guys! Up in the air again!" James shouted, and the entire team kicked off once more.

By the end of training, Lily was sure that James was either very creative, highly suicidal, or had no respect for human life. Quite a few of his drills involved putting his players in the path of danger in order to push them to "perform at their peak".

For example – Bludger Dodging. The Captain had somehow managed to obtain six bludgers, which he let loose to fly around the pitch. Then each player was forced into the air, while Jo and Sirius attempted to knock them off their brooms. James had demonstrated this for his team, and almost had his head taken off.

Unfortunately, that didn't deter him from getting the rest of the team to play.

"Pretty sure I've just gotten more bruises than I can even count," Alice muttered.

Then there was the Freefalling drill, where the players had to literally throw themselves off their brooms a hundred feet in the air, and pray to Merlin that their teammates were able to catch them before they became pancakes.

Several of the boys were much paler afterwards than when they started out. Even the ever-daring Jo had had to sit down for a while before she could walk safely without her knees giving out.

"I don't think I need to go on a roller-coaster ever again," Lily said.

Lunch had already started by the time they'd finished their drills. Though James appeared eager to continue through lunch, it was his best friend's constant whining that got him to change his mind. They must've set a new record with the time it took for them to shower, change and put their brooms away.

"Hey Peter, hey Re – Remus, are you alright?" Lily asked as she and Alice sat down at the Gryffindor table.

A very tired looking Remus smiled at Lily's concern. "I'm fine."

"Really?" Alice asked, eyebrow raised in disbelief. Peter shot Remus a sympathetic look.

"Just..."

"Just what?"

"Well...my Aunt Helga, she...passed away," Remus admitted, stabbing his chicken, "I just got the news."

"Oh, that's horrible!" Alice gasped, "Are you...I mean, how are you holding up?"

"I'm alright. I didn't like her very much. But my mum...she was my mum's sister," he said, giving her a weak smile.

"I'm so sorry," Lily murmured.

"Thanks."

Lily was about to pull the boy into a hug, when she realised that would not be very fitting to her "_I'm-a-boy_" image. Instead, she settled for putting a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"If there's anything at all that I can do, help with homework, getting people off your back..."

"No, it's okay, really," Remus said. "I'll be fine."

They were interrupted with the arrival of James and Sirius, both of whom looked very sombre. "Remus, mate," Sirius began, "We heard about your aunt."

"If you need anything," James added, "Just ask."

"Thanks," Remus said, giving his friends a tired smile, "I'll be fine."

"So, when's the...well...funeral?" Alice asked tentatively.

"This evening," he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "So I'll probably not be back for school tomorrow. Um...is there any chance I could trouble one of you to take notes for me –"

"Consider it done," Lily and James both replied. They glanced at each other, before James added, "Though perhaps you should take Liam's notes. Probably more legible."

Remus laughed, though it sounded more like a choked cough. "Thanks guys."

"Don't worry about it."

Professor McGonagall came to collect Remus from the common rooms that afternoon. There was a sad look in her eyes, almost pitying; as she escorted him out, she wrapped her arms comfortingly around his shoulders in a very un-McGonagall-like manner.

"He'll be fine," James reassured the very worried Lily.

"Well...if you're sure."

"'Course I am! Now, how's that Transfiguration essay coming along?"

But as James began to explain the principle behind human transfiguration, Lily had the strangest feeling that he'd changed the subject on purpose.

That night, when all was dark and Alice was asleep, Lily lay awake in her bed. Sleep seemed to elude her that night, and no matter how hard she tried, it was always beyond her grasp. It was because of this temporary insomnia that she heard the other three boys whispering, before the door creaked open.

Lily peaked out through her curtains just in time to see the door seemingly close on its own accord. While Alice snored away, Lily went to check the three beds belonging to the rest of the Marauders. They were all empty. She didn't get much sleep that night.

The next morning, Lily looked almost tired as James, Sirius and Peter.

.

_Mwahahahahaha! Subtle? I think not. _

_Anyways, how did you guys like that chapter? Good? Bad? Made you want to puke, then strangle me? __**PLEASE REVIEW!**__ Let me know what you think!_

_Oh, and constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome! xox_


	8. Slytherin vs Ravenclaw

Just a little guide...

Lily Evans = Liam Evans (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Alice Chevalier = Alex Chevalier (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Violet Hastings = Brett Hastings (Keeper) 5th year Hufflepuff

Michaela Lefevre = Michael Lefevre (Seeker) 4th year Hufflepuff

Joanna Fournier = Jo Fournier (Beater) 5th year Gryffindor

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

Really glad you all liked the team! Thanks for reviewing, and let's get the story started!

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Chapter Eight – Slytherin vs Ravenclaw**

The mystery of the Marauders' disappearance was soon forgotten in the week leading up to the first Quidditch match of the season. James was complaining non-stop on Monday morning, because the Slytherins had somehow managed to book the pitch the same time as James' scheduled practice. And since Slytherins had a game, they had priority.

Remus came back Tuesday morning, looking tired as hell. The Marauders seemed especially protective of him, and were on his every beck and call. They also tried to limit the amount of time Lily and Alice spent with the boy, which Lily thought was really unfair, but which Alice reasoned that they'd known him far longer, so would know how to help the boy through his aunt's death.

However, nothing explained the limp which Remus spent the rest of the week walking with, while a very apologetic-looking Sirius Black trailed after him, carrying both his own bag and Remus' much heavier one without complaint.

Wednesday signalled the start of the insults and occasional spell being thrown between members of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin Quidditch teams. Others of their house also joined in, with the result that by Thursday, you couldn't be in a room with a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin without learning new foul words, or curses that made all your hair fall out.

"This is actually very pleasant," James had said when Lily had asked about this 'tradition'. "Wait until it's us versus the Slytherins – that's when it gets real ugly."

That was another difference between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons – there was never this amount of anticipation, of house pride, of excitement, at Beauxbatons. It was very over-whelming for the Transfers.

Friday, the day before the Quidditch match, was full of last minute practices for both teams. It became a rather common occurrence for captains to shout random reminders to their team, like "Target Tumble's left – he just broke his wrist!" or "Keep knockin' bludgers at Black; don't want him getting to the snitch!"

That was actually when Lily learnt about Sirius's younger brother.

Regulus Black, Slytherin seeker, was two years younger than Sirius. And though they each claimed to hate each other, Lily spotted Sirius hexing a Ravenclaw who'd tried to trip Regulus over, which resulted in the removal of ten points and a detention. She also saw the looks Regulus constantly shot at his brother, clearly still idolising the older boy despite his being in Gryffindor and associating with "blood-traitors and mudbloods".

"I think that Regulus understands the faults in his parents' beliefs," Remus had said during one of the rare moments he and Lily had been left alone, "But he's too much of a coward to rebel like Sirius. I'm sure though, one day, the two will reconcile. After all, when Sirius ran away from home, he'd actually debated whether or not to bring Regulus, before deciding it was probably safer for him to remain with his ex-family."

Which brought Lily to splutter over the fact that Sirius had run away and subsequently been disowned. To which, Remus had just laughed and told her that it was old news.

Saturday dawned bright and cloudless, with just a soft breeze. In other words, perfect Quidditch conditions.

"James, why must we get here so bloody early?" Sirius whined.

The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team were already in the stands, front row seats. They were also all very annoyed, as they'd been dragged out of their breakfast to sit and stare at the empty pitch.

"We need to get good seats to observe the tactics Ravenclaw and Slytherin are going to use!" James exclaimed, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The rest of the team exchanged exasperated looks, before slumping down in their seats and preparing themselves for the boring wait. It took half an hour for the rest of the school to come out, and another fifteen minutes for the stands to fill. And all the while, deadly looks were being shot at the Gryffindor team captain, who somehow managed to miss them all.

Finally, _finally_, the commentator took to the stands.

"_Hello all, and welcome to the very first game of the Quidditch season_!" Daniel Malcolm, a fifth year Ravenclaw, announced. He grinned at the roar which he received from the crowd.

"_And here come the Slytherin team! Captain Aries Baddock hasn't made many changes to his team this year. In fact, discounting Harris Brokefield – the new keeper – there hasn't been any changes at all. However, this is not surprising considering that this is last year's winning team."_

Lily turned to James with a raised eyebrow. "They won last year?"

James grimaced. "I try not to think about that."

She turned back to face the green and silver team emerging into the sunlight, to the cheers of the Slytherin stand. One boy in particular caught her eye; he was around her age, with greasy hair and a tight scowl. He didn't really seem the sort to be able to fly well.

"_And now, please welcome the new Ravenclaw team! Unlike the Slytherins, it seems that captain Brian Robinson has made quite a few changes to his team! In fact, the only familiar face I see appears to be Kyle Tumbles, the keeper. I guess we'll wait to see how his team does this year!"_

The Ravenclaws came out, a sea of blue and bronze, their faces hard and determined. The Hogwarts Quidditch coach, Mac Kerr, released the bludgers and the snitch, before beginning the toss up.

"_And they're off!"_

It was possible to see, almost immediately, just how good the Slytherins were. They flew with a confidence that Lily rarely saw – it was almost like their broomsticks were merely an extension of their body. And as a result, they were able to pull off even the most dangerous moves flawlessly.

It was breathtaking to watch.

And surprisingly, it was the greasy haired boy who flew the best, with a grace and deadliness that reminded Lily of a hawk.

Beside her, James was busy scribbling down different tactics being used, which players favoured which hand, where their blind spots were. Sirius appeared to be helping, but it seemed that he was merely whispering nonsense to his friend for a moment later, James pushed the boy away with an annoyed look on his face.

"_Baddock scores! Ten points to Slytherin!"_

"They're good," Alice said, impressed, "Very good. I don't think even Sam's that good," she added, referring to the Beauxbatons Quidditch captain Sam Fitzroy.

Lily snorted. "The only thing Fitzroy had going for him was a top-of-the-line broom and a very rich father."

"_Snape scores! Another ten points to Slytherin!_"

"So you believe the stories that he bribed his way onto the team?" Alice asked.

"Let's just say that it makes sense," Lily muttered, "I mean, half the players of Aigle could fly better than him. Change that, half the players of _Chouette_ could fly better than him. And yet, he was made Captain."

"_Grey swerves around Brokefield...he shoots...he scores! Ten points to Ravenclaw!"_

"Seems to be favouring right side," James muttered as he wrote.

Sirius exchanged amused looks with Jo, before both turned their gaze back to the Slytherin beaters, mentally analysing their every move.

"_Oh, and that's one hell of a bludger hit towards chaser Bert Samuels by one of the Slytherin beaters,_" Malcolm announced, as everyone else winced in sympathy for the chaser, "_That's gonna leave a mark._"

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Leave a mark? It looks like he just broke his arm!"

"Eh, it's not that bad," Sirius shrugged, "Otherwise the captn' would've called for a timeout."

"If that was us on the field, would James have called for a timeout?"

"Well...no," Sirius conceded, "But Ravenclaws are the house of smarts for a reason."

They both ignored the indignant "Hey!" from James. Later, they would claim not to have heard at all it over all the shouting and screaming.

"..._And now the score stands at 90 – 60 to Slytherin. Ravenclaw had better catch up soon before – the seekers have gone into a dive!"_

And suddenly the entire student population was on their feet, cheering in anticipation as Regulus and the Ravenclaw seeker dived down simultaneously, both reaching out for the elusive golden ball.

Regulus swerved almost effortlessly, cutting off the Ravenclaw seeker, before swiping at the air in front of him.

"_Regulus Black has caught the snitch! Slytherin wins!_"

The sea of green and silver were screaming their delight, all dignity forgotten.

"He's a good seeker," Alice said.

"That's one of the reasons why we lost last year," James growled, folding up the filled parchment. "Thomas kept falling for that boy's tricks. By the end, he didn't know what was up and what was down. Regulus just swooped in and grabbed the snitch."

"Michaela's going to have fun," Jo whispered to Lily as they left the Quidditch pitch.

.

The five Transfers were gathered in the library, talking about the Quidditch match. Or at least they were, before Alice got them sidetracked.

"Hey, it's a Hogsmede weekend next week," she said, interrupting their awe of Slytherin's flying skills.

"So?" Jo asked.

"Well, I was thinking," Alice said, a sly look in her eyes, "We should go as girls!"

There was a moment of stunned silence, before they figured out what she meant.

"_What?_" The four of them screeched, horrified.

"Shhh!" The librarian said, shooting them all deadly glares which they ignored.

"Yeah!" Alice said, "Come on, we need a chance to be ourselves again, and no-one will know the difference! We could say we're from Beauxbatons and we're visiting us because we miss us so much! Trust me, no-one will figure out that we're not actually us, but are in fact us!"

Violet blinked, several times. "Erm, yeah...I have no idea what you just said."

"Don't look at me," Michaela said, "I'm still trying to figure out how we could possibly pull this off."

"Alice, you must be crazy!" Lily all but shouted. "It could ruin all the hard work we've put in!"

"_Shhh_!" The librarian hissed, narrowing her eyes when she was once again ignored.

"Come on, stop thinking so much! It'll be easy! And you can't tell me that you haven't been waiting for the chance to be yourselves again," Alice said, raising an eyebrow.

_Damn Alice and her blood ability to convince me to do anything,_ Lily sighed. "Well...I do miss being able to wear a dress."

"And wear earrings," Michaela added.

"It would be nice to have long hair again," Violet said, "If only just for a day."

Jo looked around, before shrugging. "Well, I'm in."

"_Yes_!" Alice cheered, punching the air in triumph.

"Alright, that is _it_!" The librarian shouted, completely breaking her own rule of silence in the library, "You five, out! _Now_!"

.

_Lols, they got kicked out of the library!_

_Please __**REVIEW!**_

_I bet you can guess how James and Lily are going to meet, huh?_


	9. The Hogsmede Trip

_**Apologies for my leave of absence. Life decided to interrupt, in the form of study and sickness, and a visit to the hospital. Moving right along...**_

Just a little guide...

Lily Evans = Liam Evans (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Alice Chevalier = Alex Chevalier (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Violet Hastings = Brett Hastings (Keeper) 5th year Hufflepuff

Michaela Lefevre = Michael Lefevre (Seeker) 4th year Hufflepuff

Joanna Fournier = Jo Fournier (Beater) 5th year Gryffindor

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

Really glad you all liked the team! Thanks for reviewing, and let's get the story started!

**Summary**: 'They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!' Lily ranted. Alice smirked. 'Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em.'

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play 'Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic 'Girl Got Game', Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness' Series, and the movie 'She's the Man'.

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...and this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Disclaimer** **I KNOW NO FRENCH!** So please excuse any wrong words used...I just kinda looked them up on google translate...On the other hand, if you DO know French, feel free to give me a list of commonly used French phrases or something ;)

**Chapter Nine – The Hogsmede Trip**

'WHAT?'

The shout must've attracted everyone in the Great Hall; it certainly got the attention of all those sitting at the Gryffindor table, though most people ignored the outburst since it was caused by Sirius Black.

Lily massaged her ears. 'I said, we're not going to Hogsmede tomorrow.'

'But-but-but-' Sirius spluttered. 'But you have to go! Because-because...Prongs, tell them why they have to go!'

It was dinner on Friday evening. The rather busy week had come to an end. And the best part was, Lily had actually gotten an 'E' in her transfiguration essay! Though, it was really due to James's help that that had been made possible...meh.

'You guys have to go to Hogsmede,' James said, taking over from Sirius's weak but enthusiastic attempt, 'It's the whole Hogwarts experience. And I bet they don't have Honeydukes in France.'

'Or Zonkos,' Peter added, for once taking an interest in a conversation during mealtime, 'It's the best place to get all your pranking needs.'

'Speaking of which, we haven't pulled one of those in a while, have we?' Sirius said, turning to James with a thoughtful frown. 'Discounting sneaking into the Hufflepuff dorms and that. I do believe we've fallen behind.'

'And I do believe that you're right,' James said. 'We're going to have to fix that.'

'Hogsmede really is worth visiting though,' Remus said, ignoring his plotting friends. 'And as the only Wizarding Village, it's very historically significant.'

'Sorry,' Alice said in a voice that made it final, 'But we're not going. You guys have fun though.'

The matter was forgotten about when dinner ended, much to Lily and Alice's eternal relief.

The six of them were delayed when they were trapped on a staircase that decided to change paths. Sirius led them on a 'short-cut', which was so long that Lily was sure they would've reached Gryffindor tower an hour earlier if they'd just waited for the staircase to change back.

'It was faster when I used it the other day,' Sirius said, rather lamely, when they clambered into their common room.

'Sure it was,' James said, rolling his eyes. 'And I know how to turn into a rat.'

Peter threw him a look that was indecipherable, at least to Lily. She shrugged; the boys were always doing something weird.

.

When Lily woke up the next morning, the Marauders were already gone. Which was a very good thing for the two girls who were masquerading as boys who would be masquerading as girls once more.

'Alice,' she hissed, 'Alice, wake up!'

'Mmmph,' Alice sighed, snuggling deeper into her bed.

Lily sighed. 'Come on Alice! This was _your_ idea!'

'What was?' Came Alice's muffled voice.

'Going as girls to Hogsmede.'

Suddenly, Alice sat bolted up, almost hitting Lily with her head. 'Oh yeah! I forgot!' She squealed.

'Lucky me,' Lily muttered.

'Sorry,' Alice said, not sounding very sorry at all, 'Come on, let's pick out what we're going to wear! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!'

They'd decided to bring along what they would wear, and get changed somewhere in Hogsmede, just so they didn't have to walk around Hogwarts dressed as girls, and raise any unwanted questions.

Jo was already waiting for them by the time they appeared in the common room.

'What took you guys so long?' She asked, leading the way out.

Lily merely pointed at Alice, who rolled her eyes in return.

The three girls met up with Violet, Michaela and (surprisingly) Sebastian, in the front hall.

'What're you doing?' Alice asked curiously.

'Escorting you guys to Hogsmede of course!' Sebastian grinned, 'And providing some cover. Apparently, my 'other' twin shall be visiting me today, and bringing some friends. Or at least, that's the story I've spread around Hufflepuff. By the way, I should warn you; my friends are rather excited to be meeting some...erm...'hot French chicks'.'

Violet rolled her eyes, muttering something about 'boys' which her twin ignored.

'That reminds me,' Alice said, as the six of them began making their way out of Hogwarts and towards Hogsmede, 'How did you two explain about the sudden appearance of a third, previously unheard of, twin?'

Violet and Sebastian exchanged amused glances. 'We ended up telling them that I – or at least, 'Brett' – was the less liked sibling,' Violet said, 'And as a result, Sebastian and I made a pact to pretend we were twins, not triplets. It got really confusing, but at least the Hufflepuffs bought the story.'

'That's because Hufflepuffs are a trusting lot,' Sebastian smiled, 'We're too loyal for our own good.'

When they reached Hogsmede, Sebastian pulled them over to a small shop. While he made conversation with the shopkeeper (who apparently knew him rather well), the five girls quickly got changed in the bathroom.

'I think I've lost the skill to do up zips on my back,' Lily muttered, hopping around crazily while she tried to zipper up her dress.

'Need help?' Alice grinned, pulling the zip up for her.

'Thanks,' Lily smiled.

'I can't remember how to put on mascara!' Michaela laughed. 'This is bloody hilarious!'

They'd all decided to wear make-up, just to help alter their appearance even more.

'Now for the hair!' Violet announced, drawing her wand. 'Jo, you're first!'

'What?' Jo exclaimed, 'I don't want long hair!'

'Too bad,' Violet grinned, 'You're too recognisable with your hair so short,' and so saying, she twirled her wand before Jo could stick in another word of protest.

It was almost as if time had sped up. Jo's hair started growing at a startling rate; not three seconds later, and it had already shot past her shoulders. Violet let the spell go after Jo's hair reached somewhere around her mid back.

'Urgh. My head feels so heavy,' Jo groaned, trying to get used to the sensation.

'It's your own fault you haven't had hair since the second grade,' Violet said. 'Okay, who's next?'

One by one, each girl regained their long locks. Alice's was by far the longest; she'd made Lily keep the spell on until her hair was well past her waist, saying that if she had to have unreasonably short hair for a year, she was going to overcompensate at every opportunity. To which the other girls replied that this had been her idea. She merely shrugged.

'I think we're ready!' Michaela said, giving each girl a quick once-over. 'Alright, let's go!'

Sebastian accosted them on their way out. 'You girls look good,' he said approvingly.

Violet rolled her eyes. 'Shove off.'

'Okay, so here's the plan. I'm going to go meet up with my friends at the Three Broomsticks. It's where most Hogwarts students stop off, you know, to get a butterbeer or something,' he added at Alice's questioning look, 'After, say, ten minutes or so, you five walk in. Then I'll be all 'Oh Violet, I haven't seen you in ages!' Then you'll be all 'oh, I haven't seen you in _forever_', or whatever it is girls do. Then I'll introduce you all, and _voila_!'

'Huh,' Violet nodded, 'That's actually one of the better plan's you've come up with.'

Sebastian stuck his tongue out at her, before adding, 'Oh, and play up your French accents. I know you've been suppressing them. And stick in some French words here and there.'

There was a moment of silence, before Lily spoke.

'So...where exactly _is_ this 'Three Broomsticks'?'

.

'Are you girls ready?' Alice whispered.

'Ready as I'll ever be,' Jo muttered, brushing her hair out of the way.

They were standing outside the Three Broomsticks. Sebastian had gone in over twenty minutes ago. And now, it was their turn.

'Okay girls, we can do this!' Lily said, ever the leader. 'If we can pretend to be guys, then we can sure as hell pretend to be girls who've never seen Hogsmede before.'

'But...we _haven't_ seen Hogsmede before,' Michaela said.

'Exactly! That's the spirit!' Lily grinned.

'I think you've finally broken her with this scheme,' Violet whispered to Alice.

The five girls linked arms, before finally entering the Three Broomsticks.

A whoosh of warm air greeted them, followed by the chatter of dozens of students packed into the bar. A pleasant, slightly sweet smell lingered in the air, giving the bar a very cosy feel that no doubt helped to boost its popularity with students.

Violet spotted her brother, and began to drag the girls towards him. Sebastian looked up when they were within hearing distance, and the smile that lit up his face would've made Lily believe that he hadn't seen his 'favourite' twin in ages, had she not known otherwise.

'Violet! You made it!' Sebastian exclaimed, getting up to give her a hug.

'Bonjour Sebastian,' Violet grinned, 'It's good to see you again.'

'Hey Sebastian, aren't you going to introduce us?' One of Sebastian's friends said, sending Violet a wink over her twin's shoulder.

'Oh right,' Sebastian smiled. 'Guys, this is my twin Violet –'

'The favourite twin,' some of Sebastian's friends laughed.

'Don't tell Brett,' Violet grinned.

'Fingers crossed!' The boys chorused.

Lily and Alice exchanged glances. 'Hufflepuffs,' they murmured.

'Anyway, these are her friends,' Sebastian continued, 'Lily, Alice, Michaela and Joanna.'

Jo winced slightly at being called that, but couldn't say anything to disagree since introducing her as 'Jo' would've been cutting it a little too close.

'Girls, these are my friends. This here's Robert, Steven, and Blake, and that idiot over there's Matthew.'

'Oi!' Matthew exclaimed, though there was a grin on his face.

'Pleasure to meet you girls,' Robert said, sending Violet another wink. This one Sebastian saw, and he gave the boy a rather annoyed glare.

'So, you want that tour of Hogsmede now or later?' Sebastian asked.

'Now would be good,' Violet said, 'We aren't exactly here for too long.'

When Sebastian's friends made to get up to follow them too, Lily hastily added, 'But you boys should just stay here, enjoy yourselves. We can explore on our own.'

'Now what kind of gentlemen would we be to let a group of beautiful girls such as yourselves go away without an escort?'

Lily turned to see the Marauders, who had somehow snuck up on their little gathering.

James, who'd just spoke, smiled charmingly at Lily. 'Why, I don't believe we've met before. James Potter, at your service.'

When Lily slid her hand into his extended one, James bend over in a slight bow before brushing his lips over her knuckles. Later, she would vehemently deny it to Alice (who would never let her live it down), but the moment James touched her hand, a warm blush crept up her cheeks, along with a slight fluttery sensation in her stomach.

'En – enchante,' Lily breathed.

James's eyes widened in delight. 'You're from France?'

'Wow, we're getting an influx this year,' Sirius grinned, 'You girls attend Beauxbatons by any chance?'

'Yes,' Alice said, sending the boys a nervous smile.

'You wouldn't happen to know an Alex Chevalier, would you?' Sirius asked.

'Oh, yes,' Alice nodded, privately thinking how strange this conversation felt, 'He and a group of his friends transferred earlier this year.'

'Well, anyway,' Sebastian interrupted, trying to steer the topic away from dangerous waters. 'If you still want that tour, we should really get going now.'

'Yes, that might be a good idea,' Violet agreed. 'Shall we?'

'You girls go ahead,' James said, his eyes still on Lily. 'I think I'll give this lovely lady here a more..._private_ tour.'

'Potter, please don't try anything,' Sebastian sighed.

'Wasn't going to. I just wanted to get to know her better,' James replied pleasantly, before turning to Lily once more. 'Well, what do you say?'

Lily hesitated, completely lost. What if she gave something away? There was a gentle nudge from behind, along with a soft whisper of 'Go for it,' courtesy of her best friend. The other girls were also nodding subtly, giving Lily small winks and smirks.

The girl relented. 'D'acord,' she smiled.

James glanced behind him towards Remus, who mouthed '_that's a yes_' at him. He turned back to Lily with a full blown grin.

'Excellent,' he said, offering her his arm, 'Shall we?'

Lily nodded, and allowed him to lead her away to Sirius' wolf-whistle, along with Remus's 'Don't embarrass him!' exclamation.

The cold air hit them full-blast as they walked out, surprising Lily slightly with its intensity. Seeing her shiver, James took off his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders.

'Oh.' Lily gasped, a little surprised by his thoughtfulness. 'Merci!'

'Don't mention it,' James smiled warmly.

'Won't you get cold?'

'Eh, I'm used to it.'

They walked in silence for a while, before James commented, 'You know, you never told me your name.'

'It's Lily.'

'Lily,' James whispered. 'That's a beautiful name.'

'Merci.'

'Is there a lovely last name to go with that too?'

Lily smiled. 'Maybe, but a girl must keep some secrets, no?'

'I agree completely,' James said, tilting his head. 'So, what's Beauxbatons like?'

'Well, I've never been to another school, so I can hardly compare,' Lily said. _Lie, lie, lie_, she thought.

'Fair enough. Did you know Liam Evans? The boy who transferred?'

_This is so weird_, Lily thought, though she replied, 'Actually yes. He was one of my good friends.'

'I like the kid,' James smiled, 'He's pretty funny. Kind of bad at Transfiguration though.'

'Me too,' Lily laughed, 'It was one of the things we bonded over.'

At the word _bonded_, Lily felt the boy stiffen slightly. 'So, uh, did you two ever...you know...go out?' He asked in a would-be casual voice.

'No,' Lily grinned, suppressing a snort, 'No, he's like a brother to me. We're very close but...no.'

'Oh, that's good,' James relaxed. 'I mean, not good...well, could be good, I mean, yeah...Do you like chocolate?'

'Oui,' Lily nodded, 'Who doesn't?'

'Indeed. D'you want go in here? Honeydukes,' James said, pointing at the shop, 'They've got the best chocolates in all of Hogsmede.'

'I'd love to,' Lily said warmly, and allowed herself to be led into the candy-filled shop.

Later, she was quite certain that the way her jaw dropped was very unladylike. At that current moment however, she did not care.

The entire shop was filled with shelves upon shelves of every possible kind of candy. Nougat, coconut ice, toffees; hundreds, perhaps_ thousands_ of different kinds of chocolate, all placed in neat rows. There were several large barrels filled to the brim with Bertie Botts' Every Flavoured Beans, and Fizzing Whizzbees, and Droobles Best Blowing Gum. Ice Mice, Toothflossing Stringmints, Pepper Imps hung in baskets from the roof.

In short, it was a candy-lover's paradise.

James laughed at the astounded expression on Lily's face. 'Don't have candy shops like this in France then?'

Lily shook her head. 'To be honest, I don't know; I don't usually go to candy shops, since my friends have an endless supply of sugar.'

'Sounds like Remus,' James mused, 'Though, we tend to get him his endless supply. Oh look, they've got a new flavour of chocolate!'

Lily was dragged over to the gigantic chocolate display. 'How can you _tell_? There seem to be infinite flavours here!'

'Remus is a chocolate lover,' James said simply, as if it was the answer to all the questions of the universe. And maybe it was. 'He's favourite is the '_Triple Deluxe Magnifico_', but we've tried just about every single flavour ever made.'

'Which one's your favourite?' Lily asked.

James smiled. 'This one.'

Lily accepted the block he'd just passed to her. ''_Lonely Nights'_?May I ask why?'

'I'm not sure,' James shrugged, 'But I reckon it's the best one. Tell you what, I'll get that for you to try; my treat. And anything else you want. After all, you're only here once,' he grinned.

.

'Nice job guys. I reckon we'll stop there for today.'

The six Gryffindor Quidditch players froze, turning to look at James with slackened jaws, the same thought running through their heads. _Did he just cut practice short?_

'Erm, James...are you feeling alright?' Albert asked tentatively.

'I'm fine, buddy,' James grinned, 'I'm wonderful. Stupendous.'

'He's been like that ever since he came back from giving his 'private tour' with that French chick,' Sirius muttered to Albert as the team landed on the ground, 'Whose name I _still don't know_.'

'At least we won't miss lunch this week,' the boy replied.

While the rest of the players trooped into the changing rooms, Lily hung back to wait for James. However, the boy didn't look like he would be joining them for quite a while.

James was standing in the middle of the Quidditch field, exactly where they'd left him. The boy was staring dreamily into space, leaning against his world-class broomstick.

Lily bit her lip in worry, before deciding to leave James to his daydreaming.

.

_Ah, young love ;)_

_So my lovelies, how did you like that chapter? Let me know in an awesome __**REVEIW!**_

_See ya round! xox_


	10. Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff

Just a little guide...

Lily Evans = Liam Evans (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Alice Chevalier = Alex Chevalier (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Violet Hastings = Brett Hastings (Keeper) 5th year Hufflepuff

Michaela Lefevre = Michael Lefevre (Seeker) 4th year Hufflepuff

Joanna Fournier = Jo Fournier (Beater) 5th year Gryffindor

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

Thanks for the reviews!

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Chapter Ten – Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff**

Unfortunately for the Gryffindor team, James's newfound kindness did not last.

"We might be playing Hufflepuffs, and they might play very fair, but that does not mean I want you slacking off!" He'd shouted during practice.

Though he was definitely a lot less harsh on his them, as the match against Hufflepuff drew closer, the "slave-driver" personality in him – the one that probably got him the captaincy in the first place – began to re-emerge once more.

"Is it broken?" James asked.

Albert shook his head, face pale with pain as he clutched onto his wrist, which had bent backwards a little too far when he'd attempted to stop one of Alice's shots. "I'm not sure. I don't think so though."

"Can you move it?"

The fifth year boy twisted his hand slightly, before wincing in pain and immediately stopping. "A...a little, I guess," he admitted, twisting his hand the other, relatively pain-free way.

"Then you're fine," James said brusquely, "Now get back to those goals!"

Lily was finding less and less time in her week, as more and more of it was taken up with flying around in the steadily darkening sky, keeping her eyes peeled for the red blur that meant that someone had tossed the quaffle her way.

There were almost permanent dark circles under not only her eyes, but the rest of her teammates. She found herself constantly falling asleep during class, and her homework was getting highly neglected, sitting in an increasing pile by her bed and causing sharp jolts of guilt to race through her whenever she happed to glance in its messy direction.

What was even worse to deal with, however, was the obvious tension that now lingered between herself and her ex-Beauxbaton friends.

This was the first time any of them would be playing against each other in a 'real' game, and with their own loyalties now deeply cemented towards their Houses, it became almost impossible for the five of them to hang out together without someone making a comment that would cause a massive argument between the best of friends.

In a way, the obvious rip in their friendship was causing Lily more pain than her newly healed broken nose; at least with that, she had a grovelling Sirius on her every beck and call.

"I can't wait for this match to be over and done with," Lily muttered that Friday night, taking a seat next to Alice and reaching out to pile her plate with her dinner.

"I know what you mean," Alice said, glancing over at the Hufflepuff table. "It feels like we're back in second year again, doesn't it?"

"What, you mean when we started picking on Violet before Jo stepped in? Yeah, it kinda does," Lily admitted.

"Don't worry about it," Sirius interjected as he sat down, having correctly interpreted the glum expressions on the girls' faces (and thankfully not having heard any of their conversation). "Us Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs only ever get this tense for about a week before the match. By the time it's over, we're back to being the best of pals."

"Oh...Is that why James is currently having a yelling match with Robert Finch?" Lily asked, blinking down the table where the furious Gryffindor captain was shouting at the red-faced Robert.

"Nah...well, sorta, I suppose," Sirius frowned, before shrugging. "He's just pissed 'cause Robbo stole our pitch."

"So...no practice?" Alice asked hopefully.

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, that'll be the day. No, the git's just gone and moved practice 'till after the Hufflepuffs have finished. He's still not very happy about it though."

Lily just groaned, allowing her head to hit the table with a _thunk_.

.

"Black! Evans! Chevalier! Up, now!"

Lily jolted up out of bed, startled at the loud voice. Next to her, Alice let out a low groan, along with several muttered death threats that made Lily wince. Sirius merely retaliated by chucking his pillow at James.

It was only when Lily, Alice and the Marauders walked into the Great Hall that she remembered it was the day of the big match. Throughout the entire hall, students were dressed up in house colours, happily talking about what they would expect to see. Upon spotting James, a huge cheer rang out along the Gryffindor table; the captain grinned happily, clapping people on the back as he made his way to his usual spot.

Lily and Alice merely exchanged exasperated glances before following him.

It almost seemed like time had sped up. One moment, James was ordering his team to eat and filling up everyone's plate but his own; and the next, they were in the locker room, changed and ready, having paid almost no attention to James's supposedly inspiring speech.

"Nervous?" James asked, coming to stand beside Lily as the two hoisted their brooms onto their shoulders.

"A bit. But I'm always like this before a game," Lily admitted. "Besides, what's Quidditch without a good shot of adrenaline?"

James laughed. "True that."

Lily and Alice exchanged 'good lucks', and then James led them out of their locker rooms and onto the Quidditch pitch, to the roars of the crowd.

" _– the Gryffindor team!"_ Daniel Malcolm, the commentator shouted over the eruption of cheers from the Gryffindor stand.

Overwhelmed, Lily stopped short to blink up at the crowd. It was never this competitive at Beauxbatons; never this much pressure, nor this much encouragement. The Gryffindors were screaming for all they were worth, urging on their team to win. Across from them, the entire stand dressed in yellow and black were doing the same for their own house.

"Liam! Come on, stop dawdling!" Sirius suddenly appeared by Lily's side. "We got a game to win!"

Lily glanced from Jo, whose face was flushed with excitement, to Alice, who was waving up at the Gryffindors.

"Oi, Evans!" James shouted. "Get up here!"

Numbly, Lily approached the Gryffindor Captain. "Yeah?"

"You do the toss up," James grinned.

"What?"

"Come on, newbie," he teased, "Call it for us!"

Lily turned to face the Hufflepuff captain, who gave her a cheerful smile despite the circumstance.

"Heads," Lily said as Coach Kerr tossed the bronze knut up.

"Heads it is!"

"Those goals," Lily grinned, pointing.

"Good luck," Robert said, extending his hand.

"You too," Lily smiled back. She shot Michaela and Violet a wink, before mounting her broom. Fourteen players took to the sky, the chasers keeping one eye on the quaffle and the other on their opponents.

The Coach blew the whistle, tossed the quaffle up, and suddenly the chasers shot forwards, a weaving mass of bodies and arms, each trying to grab the quaffle for their own as the crowd cheered for all they were worth and the game began.

And Lily emerged, victorious, the quaffle tucked securely under her arm.

Lily pelted for the Hufflepuff goals, flanked left and right by Alice and James. Out of nowhere, the Hufflepuff chasers appeared, descending on Lily faster than she could blink.

Three against one; the odds were tough, and she knew it. Swerving in and out, streaks of yellow and black, hands reaching out for the quaffle once more...

Then suddenly a flash of red.

Lily threw the quaffle as hard as she could; it glanced off one of the Hufflepuff chaser's fingers. Alive dived for it - rolling around in midair - before lobbing it towards James.

The Gryffindor captain took off, the wind rushing through his hair. Alice pelted off after him, while Lily did her best to delay the chasers she was entangled against.

"_And James Potter scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!_"

Alice and James exchanged high-fives as they flew back towards Lily.

"Nice one!" Lily shouted.

"And you," James returned with a grin.

Alice shot forwards, hand out to intercept the quaffle, but Frank Longbottom merely tossed it to his right, where it was successfully caught by his team mate, causing Alice to shoot Frank a glare of annoyance. They continued to pelt towards the Gryffindor goals.

Lily and James exchanged identical smirks, before they flew forwards at the exact same time. James swerved left, almost spinning in midair as he faced off against the Hufflepuff chaser. He feinted right, and the chaser threw the quaffle to his team mate ... only to have Lily dive in. Intercepting the quaffle, she ditched it halfway across the field where it was caught by Alice, who shot forwards towards Violet Hastings, the Hufflepuff keeper.

"_Chevalier scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!_"

"Woot!" Jo grinned, appearing suddenly beside Lily, beaters bat at the ready. "Violet's off her game!"

"She's just not played with us for too long," Lily grinned.

The Hufflepuff chasers were pelting towards them again, with James and Alice hot on their tails. Lily flew forwards to meet them, swerving in front of the lead chaser as she tried to steal the quaffle. No such luck.

"Prongs! Catch!" Sirius shouted.

Suddenly a black streak crossed in front of the Hufflepuff chasers. The bludger made contact with the quaffle, and the force of the blow knocked the quaffle clean out of the chaser's hands. James dived; so did the intercepted chaser. Another bludger cut the Hufflepuff off – Jo grinned, giving Sirius a mock salute as the boy bowed to her.

"Evans!" James shouted.

Lily shot forward, snatching the quaffle from the air, before shooting off. Alice followed, keeping the Hufflepuffs at bay. A bludger almost took her head off; dimly, Lily heard Sirius's annoyed shout. But all she could see was Violet's determined face as the keeper flew forwards to meet her.

Lily feinted right; Violet saw right through it and swerved left. And then Lily rolled and threw...

"_Evans scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!_"

Alice let out a very girly shriek that would've immediately given her away, if the crowd hadn't drowned her out.

"Nice one, Lily," Violet smiled, "But I'll get you next time."

Lily just laughed. "Bring it on!"

From there the game progressed in much the same manner.

James was right; Hufflepuffs were very fair players. Perhaps too fair, such as when the Hufflepuff beater accidentally caught the Snitch in his hand. Complete accident - he'd merely raised it to brush his hair out of his eyes, and suddenly the little golden ball was there. He'd blinked at it, several times in fact, before immediately alerting Coach Kerr of his foul. He could've just let it go and pretended nothing had happened; instead, he'd pretty much handed Gryffindor another ten points.

"_Longbottom scores! Ten points to Hufflepuff!_"

The Head Boy punched the air in victory. Next to her, Alice scowled heavily at the boy, before flying forwards to take the quaffle. Lily and James merely exchanged amused glances.

The score stood at 80-70, to Gryffindor. Aside from being caught by the Hufflepuff beater, the snitch had altogether disappeared from the game.

"Any luck?" Lily asked, pulling up next to Michaela.

"None whatsoever," the Hufflepuff seeker sighed, scanning the pitch fruitlessly.

"_And the Gryffindor chaser appears to be in cohorts with the Hufflepuff seeker!_"

Lily scowled heavily in the direction of Daniel Malcolm. Michaela just laughed before shooing her away. James all but accosted her when she intercepted a quaffle being passed to Longbottom.

"I know their seeker is your friend," James shouted over the wind, as they pelted towards the waiting Violet, "But you're on Gryffindor's team, not Hufflepuff's!"

"Desole," Lily muttered, raising the quaffle. Violet dived towards her, arms raised to block, when suddenly Lily tossed the quaffle to the waiting James, who ditched it through the left hoop.

"_Potter scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!_"

90-70.

"Sheperdson!" James roared. "Find me that snitch!"

Alice spun in midair, whipping the quaffle out of Frank's hands, before throwing it towards Lily. Together the two girls raced down the pitch, tossing the quaffle back and forth, making stealing it an impossible task. Not that the Hufflepuff chasers didn't try.

Then suddenly, the two seekers went into a dive.

The crowds erupted into roars of encouragement as Michaela and Thomas raced each other towards the tiny golden ball.

Lily's heart was in her throat, watching, praying. Alice too, watched, frozen - the quaffle in her hand all but forgotten about.

Thomas reached out a hand, Michaela matching him stretch for stretch.

The golden ball fluttered, speeding up as if it sensed it's imminent capture.

Twin hands grappled with each other, desperately seeking to close around the prize...

...And then nimble fingers snatched the Golden Snitch out of the sky.

.

_Who won? _Who won?_ WHO WON!_

_Care to leave a __**REVIEW**__?_


	11. To Contact the Love of my Life

Just a little guide...

Lily Evans = Liam Evans (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Alice Chevalier = Alex Chevalier (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Violet Hastings = Brett Hastings (Keeper) 5th year Hufflepuff

Michaela Lefevre = Michael Lefevre (Seeker) 4th year Hufflepuff

Joanna Fournier = Jo Fournier (Beater) 5th year Gryffindor

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic.

**Chapter 11 – To Contact the Love of My Life **

_Twin hands reached out, grappling, desperate...and fingers snatched the Golden Snitch out of the sky._

The crowd erupted into cheers, whistling and screaming, anticipating the win for their own house.

Michaela and Thomas looked at each other, blinking, before the Gryffindor seeker unclenched his hand. The Golden Snitch unfurled its wings on his palm, but didn't fly off.

_"Thomas Sheperdson has caught the Snitch; Gryffindor wins!_"

"Yes!" James shouted, punching the air in truimph.

Lily and Alice dived to join up with Michaela; from the corner of her eye, Lily could see Violet and Jo heading towards them too.

"Congratulations guys," Michaela smiled.

"You were so close," Jo groaned, "Though I don't know why I'm upset; I mean, we won."

"We're too used to being on the same team," Alice said.

"Better luck next time, Mickey," Violet said, clapping Michaela on the back as she joined them. "But you two were great! I'm going to have to watch out for you. And Potter, I suppose," she added as an afterthought.

"Oi, Evans! Chevalier! Fournier!" Sirius shouted from the other side of the pitch. "Party in the common room! Be there, or be dared!"

"Huh?" Violet asked.

Jo rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him; he's an idiot."

"Like most guys," Alice added.

The five girls landed, separating to go to their respective changing rooms. As Alice, Lily and Jo exchanged the finer details of the game from their own point of view, and analysed the opposing teams every move, someone cleared their throat loudly behind them.

"Longbottom," Lily greeted.

"Evans, Fournier," Frank nodded, before turning to Alice who raised a cool eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat again, before sticking out his hand. "Good game, Chevalier."

A surprised look came over Alice's face, before she smirked at him, accepting the hand. "Good game. Still kicked your ass, though."

Frank laughed. "You wait 'till next time," he grinned.

"Bring it on."

.

The aftermath of the game left Lily so elated that she could hardly settle down to do anything. The party lasted until midnight, when Professor McGonagall stormed in and screamed for them to go to bed. The party then continued in the sixth year boys' dorm, though it was only for the Marauders, Lily and Alice.

The result of this was that Lily got about an hours' sleep in total.

Despite this though, Lily got up nice and early Sunday morning, unable to get back to sleep. With a groan, she got out of bed, changed, and decided to start on her Charms essay in the common room so as to not bother the rest of her dorm mates with her scratching quill.

The common room was stark empty, aside from the piles of trash littered around the place. Lily rolled her eyes, before curling herself up in the loveseat closest to the fireplace.

She was so focussed on her essay, on the natural flow of words that just seemed to leap onto the page, that she didn't register the person who sat down opposite her, until he cleared her throat.

"Argh!" Lily shrieked, startled.

James just sniggered. "You scream like a girl, Evans."

"Gee, thanks," Lily muttered.

"So...what 'ya doin'?"

"Charms. I've almost finished the essay Professor Flitwick set."

"You work too much," James said, "I haven't even started mine."

"Well, you have a week."

"Yeah, I'm not really planning on doing it until the night before it's due," James said with a good natured grin.

"Typical."

There was a beat of silence, filled with the scratching of quill on parchment, before James cleared his throat again. This time, Lily put her quill down.

"Yes?"

"Well...I was just wondering," James began in a very awkward tone, "Could I ask a favour of you?"

Lily tilted her head. "Depends. Would I be publically humiliated, or put in mortal peril?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I just...I was wondering if you'd be able to contact Lily for me?"

At that moment, if Lily had been drinking anything, she was sure she would have choked. As it is, she had to swallow down a splutter, and take several seconds to compose herself, before she was able to answer.

"May I ask why?"

James looked even more awkward. "Well...I sort of...met her. In Hogsmede."

It took Lily several moments to realise that James hadn't actually disclosed the identity of the "French chick" (dubbing courtesy of Sirius) to anyone. Well, she supposed she would have to play up the surprise then.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah."

"Lily was in Hogsmede?" This must've been one of the strangest conversations Lily had ever had.

"Yeah," James said again, giving Lily an awkward smile.

"Wait, let me guess...she's the mysterious 'French chick' you refused to talk about."

"...yeah."

"Oh, I am going to _kill _Lily," she said.

"Yeah...wait, what?"

Okay, it was making up story time! "She sends me letters telling me about what's happening back home, and not _once_ did she mention coming to Hogsmede!"

"Maybe...she wanted to surprise you?"

"Yeah, that sounds like her," Lily muttered, inwardly thinking that that did sound like something she would do.

"So...um...will you help me out?"

"Why don't you send her a letter yourself?" Lily asked, curious.

"Well, I've tried," James grimaced, "But Leo never seems to want to deliver them. I think it might be the fact that he hates travelling too far, and France is...well, _far_. But, I dunno, he's never refused before, so I'm not sure what's going on."

"What about the school owls?" Lily asked. She had to make sure that she wouldn't be getting random letters from James, in front of James. Oh, that would be beyond awkward.

James just shrugged. "I don't trust the school owls. They all hate me, so they never deliver my letters properly."

"I see..." Lily frowned. "Okay, I'll help you out."

"Really?" James's entire disposition lit up. "Great! Thank you so much, Liam! I'll go write a letter now, and d'you think you could maybe owl it today?"

"Sure, why not."

"Thanks," James grinned, getting up. "I owe you big time, Evans."

"Yeah," Lily muttered, rubbing her face with her hands as she was left alone once more, "Yeah, that you do."

.

_Dear Lily,_

_Hi. I'm not sure if you remember me at all, but I certainly remember you. Actually, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. I know, cliché, right? Hope I didn't freak you out or anything. _

_Anyway, how are you doing? I hope you don't mind that I've gotten Liam to send this; my owl refuses to travel that far. At least, I think that's his reason. He's normally quite good about letters, but he can get a little lazy._

_So, the point of this letter...I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me? There's a Hogsmede trip coming up in three weeks...would you be able to come again? I know it's a big ask, and that international port-keying sucks, but Hogwarts has stricter rules than Beauxbatons, so I can't get away to see you...okay, I think I'm rambling._

_Um, hopefully I'll hear from you soon. I mean, if I haven't scared you off or anything._

_James :)_

Lily put the letter down with a sigh, massaging her temples and giving herself moment to decide how to respond.

It was well into the afternoon. She lay on her bed, alone for once. Alice was with Jo, and the Marauders were...well, doing whatever it is that those boys do. So hopefully, they would all be kept pretty occupied while she wrote a reply to the letter that James had asked her to send to herself. Oh Merlin this was confusing.

Lily sighed, before pulling a fresh piece of parchment towards her and picking up her quill. She paused slightly, composing her message inside her head, before touching her quill to the parchment and beginning her letter.

_Dear James,_

_No, I haven't forgotten about you. And no, you haven't scared me off. I would have written to you, but I wasn't sure if you'd remember me either. Funny how things turn out._

_It's getting colder here. I suppose it's much colder where you are, though. _

_I must say, I loved the chocolate you bought me. And I think I'm going to have to agree with you; 'Lonely Nights' really is the best flavour I've ever tasted. My friends thought so too; I almost had to wrestle the chocolate away from them – _

The door creaked open, causing Lily to jerk up with a start, before pulling her charms book over the letters. That done, she slowly pulled open the curtains around her bed to peek out into the room.

"Oh, hey Remus," she greeted cheerfully. "Where're the rest of the Marauders?"

"Waiting for me down in the common room," Remus said. He attempted to smile, but it looked more like a grimace to Lily.

"Erm, are you alright? You don't look too good."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Remus said, reassuringly. "It's just...I'm really worried. My mum got really sick last week, and now she's getting worse. I'm going home for a few days, to help out, you know?"

"Oh, Remus," Lily said, sympathetically, "You really have the worst luck, don't you?"

"Tell me about it," Remus muttered, though there was an undertone to his voice that she couldn't quite pick out.

"I'll make notes for you again," Lily said. "Hope your mum gets better."

"Thanks," Remus said, before picking up the bag he'd just filled with clothes and walking out. "I guess I'll see you later."

Lily smiled. "Yeah. Don't stress, I'm sure everything will be fine."

Remus nodded, before closing the door and leaving Lily alone once more.

Finding herself unable to concentrate anymore on the letter, Lily discarded it before deciding to finish off her Charm's essay.

After dinner, she headed back to the dorms, drawing the curtains shut around her bed, picking up her quill, and starting again from where she left off.

_My owl gets really peculiar about the letters she delivers too. I think that it's a phase they all go through, though I hope it doesn't last too long; I can't have all my letters misdelivered simply because my owl's not in the mood!_

_I'd love to see you again. And I really don't mind the port-key travel; it beats international apparition, and trust me, that's not something you want to experience._

_Well, I guess it's a date!_

_Can't wait,_

_Lily xox_

Satisfied that the letter was up to a proper, girlish standard, Lily sealed and addressed it, before cautiously peeking out from her curtains. Somewhere in the period when she was finishing off her letter, the others had gone to sleep, their curtains drawn tight around their beds.

Sneaking out should be no problem then.

Lily tiptoed out of the room, and quietly snuck out of Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady didn't bother to reprimand her; she'd taken a great liking to the red-haired transfer, something that played to Lily's advantage in times like this.

Slowly, she made her way to the owlery, careful to avoid making too much noise; she'd yet to sneak out after-hours at Hogwarts, and she wasn't entirely sure what the patrols were like here.

But she really needn't have worried, because she made it to the owlery without even encountering a ghost. There, she looked around until she found the most generic looking Hogwarts owl, whom she coaxed down from its very high perch.

"Hello," Lily whispered, "Hope you can put off hunting for tonight; I've got a really big favour to ask."

The owl blinked at her, which Lily took as a sign that it was listening (and that it understood). With a grin, she pulled out two letters from her pocket. One was the letter she'd composed to James, and the other was a letter Violet had written for her, from her "friends" at Beauxbatons who greatly missed "Liam".

"I need you to deliver these to me tomorrow at breakfast; can you do that?"

The owl hooted softly, nibbling Lily's fingers. Taking that as a 'yes', she proceeded to tie the two letters to the owl's leg, before letting it go back with a soft "Thanks".

Breathing in the night air, she took a moment to survey the view. The Forbidden Forest looked as dark and mysterious at night as it did during the day. The lake glittered silently in the background, not giving away any secrets hidden within its depths.

The Whomping Willow was, for once, still. Its branches lay relaxed, and not swinging around trying to knock out some invisible opponent. In the light of the full moon, it almost looked like an ordinary tree.

Lily smiled to herself before heading back towards Gryffindor tower; things at Hogwarts never ceased to amaze her.

.

_Hahahahahaha! Oh, the irony! _

_Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! Hugs and kisses to all reviewers, so please leave a __**REVIEW**__!_

_Love Chariots99 _


	12. Return of the Marauders

Just a little guide...

Lily Evans = Liam Evans (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Alice Chevalier = Alex Chevalier (Chaser) 6th year Gryffindor

Violet Hastings = Brett Hastings (Keeper) 5th year Hufflepuff

Michaela Lefevre = Michael Lefevre (Seeker) 4th year Hufflepuff

Joanna Fournier = Jo Fournier (Beater) 5th year Gryffindor

**THE MAN'S SPORT**

_**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Xox to all ;)**_

**Summary**: "They can't do this! We've worked so much harder, trained so much longer, sacrificed so much more!" Lily ranted. Alice smirked. "Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat them, join 'em."

**Inspired by** Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night, Liebesbrief's fanfic "Girl Got Game", Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness" Series, and the movie "She's the Man".

**Warnings**: AU. Definitely AU. Oh, and there may be a lot of people depicted as being very sexist...also there may be swearing...this will be a Quidditch orientated fic. And may I also add that Voldemort has yet to exist? Awesome.

**Chapter 12 – Return of the Marauders**

"Hey," Alice whispered, sliding into the seat next to Lily. "So, did you send it?"

"Yeah," Lily whispered back, trying her best to hold her nerve.

It was Monday morning, so early that there were only a handful of people in the Great Hall, Lily and Alice included. Lily was a sack of jittering nerves, hoping to Merlin that she could pull off her stunt. Alice, being the friend that she was, had told Lily of every single situation where something could go wrong.

"Good luck," Jo whispered as she passed Lily, going down further to sit with Albert and the fifth years.

"It'll be fine, Lily," Alice said. She was about to say more, when the Marauders (minus Remus) walked into the Great Hall. All three looked rather sleep deprived, though they hid it well.

"Good morning, my fine Transfers," Sirius greeted. "Isn't it a wonderful day?"

By that time, the Great Hall was steadily filling up with students. James gave Lily a warm smile, before grabbing a piece of toast and jamming half of it in his mouth. Next to him, Peter was practically inhaling his food. But that was pretty much the norm.

"D'you reckon your mum will send some brownies?" Sirius asked James hopefully.

The boy just snorted. "Not likely. Dad would've eaten half the batch, and mum would've probably given the rest away to our neighbours."

Sirius sighed. "This is why I wish we were back at your place."

The hooting of hundreds of owls interrupted anything else he was going to say; a second later, the Great Hall was bombarded with owls, circling around before diving down when they spotted their recipients.

Lily looked up, biting her lip anxiously. _What if the owl doesn't turn up? What if it lost the letters? Oh no, what if I didn't actually attach the letters? Oh, what am I going to do? What if – _

But then, she spotted the owl diving down towards her, and she breathed out a sigh of relief that thankfully couldn't be heard over the noise the rest of the hall was making.

"Hello," Lily said, feeding the owl some toast as she untied the two letters. The owl just hooted its thanks, before flying off again.

"Who's the letters from?" James asked in an innocent voice that fooled no-one.

"My friends, I'd assume," Lily said, catching Violet's eye halfway across the hall and sending the girl a thankful wink. "Oh wait, there's one addressed to you. Hm...that looks like Lily's handwriting –"

James all but lunged across the table for the letter, causing Alice to completely lose it. Sirius perked up at the new name, and put his best friend's expression with the letters from "Liam's" friends together with an almost audible click.

"Lily! Is that the name of that French chick you asked out? In Hogsmede?" He asked, excited.

"Shut up," James said, but he didn't seem aware of the words that had just come out of his mouth; all his attention was focussed solely on the parchment in his hands.

"Awww, our little Jamsie's all grown up!" Sirius cooed.

"Shut up," James said once more, now concentrating on opening the letter while his hands were shaking with nerves. It seemed like 'shut up' was merely a standard, reflexive response around Sirius.

Lily, meanwhile, was pretending to read the other letter, with Alice reading over her shoulder to make it seem as if it were actually from friends in France concerned about their wellbeing. She was actually more focussed on James's reaction, watching the boy like a hawk from the corner of her eye.

Finally, the boy managed to open the letter, and began to scan its contents eagerly.

"SHE SAID YES!" James shouted, causing the entire Great Hall to look at him. "Go back to your breakfasts!" He added, and there was a wave of motion as students turned away.

"Prongsie got a date?" Sirius exclaimed, causing a great wave of disappointed groans from girls in the general vicinity.

"Next Hogsmede trip," James grinned.

"Nice one, man," Sirius said, clapping his friend on the back.

"Is she that pretty red-head you showed around Hogsmede last time?" Peter asked, looking up from his breakfast.

"Chew and swallow," James said, though once again it seemed more like a reflexive answer. "And yes."

"And I now have full dibs on Hogwarts girls!" Sirius said proudly, puffing out his chest and looking around. "I'd say this calls for a celebration!"

"Let's wait 'till Remus gets out," James said absentmindedly, re-reading the letter.

Lily looked up. "Gets out from where?" She asked curiously.

If it weren't for the fact that she'd been spending so much time with the three, Lily would never have picked out the sudden tension in their posture. As it was, the movement was so minute, that she wondered if she were only seeing things.

"Gets out from under his mum's feet..." James said slowly.

"Yeah, I mean, we all know Remus isn't exactly brilliant at cooking," Sirius added, putting on a brilliant smile.

"Really, sometimes he's a bit of a liability," James laughed. Only someone who'd been around him for a long time would've picked out the slightly higher pitch of the laugh.

"Huh," Lily said, exchanging looks with Alice. "Alright. Fair enough."

"So, about this celebration," Peter interjected, saving his friends from digging themselves into an even deeper hole.

"Yes Peter, of course!" Sirius exclaimed, grabbing onto the new subject. "So I was thinking..."

Lily turned to Alice while the three Marauders huddled together. "Do you get the feeling that they're not telling us something?"

"Yeah," Alice said, "But then again, it's not like we can complain."

Lily sighed. "I know."

.

That week, James was extremely lax about Quidditch practice...in fact, he was extremely lax about everything. The Quidditch captain walked around with a constant smile on his face; the only time that smile was gone was when Remus reappeared two days later, looking extremely tired and worn out. Nonetheless, the boy managed a grin when James tentatively told him about the date, before collapsing onto his bed and falling asleep within seconds.

"Dude, you know that the date is in two weeks, right?" Sirius had asked when James had started panicking about what he should wear.

Lily on the other hand, thought that it was rather sweet. She too was abundant in nerves, wondering if she could actually pull this off. Though as Alice pointed out, "It's not like you don't have any experience at pretending to be someone else, even if that someone else is the person that's going to be pretending to be you, despite the fact that you already are you, and therefore should have no problem pretending to be the real you."

It did take her a while to figure out Alice's logic though.

That entire week saw the Marauders constantly plotting something, heads bent over books – a sight that left many a Gryffindor in shock. They didn't tell Lily or Alice a thing, though they did mention that now would be a great time to learn how to conjure a raft, or some sort of floating device.

It wasn't until Friday that they understood why.

"What's up with the mass of people?" Lily asked as she and Alice descended the stairs, only to find themselves unable to enter the Great Hall for breakfast due to the immense horde of students milling around.

"No clue," Alice replied, standing on tiptoe and trying to see over their heads without any luck.

"Liam! Alex!" Jo slid down the banister. "There's a rumour that this is a Marauder prank. Do you guys know what's going on?"

"They didn't tell us a thing," Lily said, "Although Sirius did mention something about learning how to conjure a raft, or any kind of floatable thing."

"Strange, that's what he told me too. Where are those guys, anyway?"

"Still asleep," Alice said, giving up trying to see, "At least, I think they were; the curtains around their beds were drawn."

"We'd better watch out," Violet said, appearing at Lily's shoulder, "Snape's coming."

"Erm...why does that mean we should watch out?"

"Oh, didn't you guys see the note?" Violet asked. At the shaking heads, she smiled. "Well, there's a note stuck onto the doors saying that only 'Severus Snape' can open them."

"Snape...oh, isn't he that Slytherin chaser?" Alice frowned, thinking hard. "You know, the one who has kinda greasy hair?"

"You mean that guy?" Lily asked, pointing.

They spun to see the crowd parting, letting one Severus Snape walk up to the doors. He was giving them all very contemptuous looks, though Lily thought she detected a hint of worry when he read the sign on the doors. They all braced themselves as Snape laid a hand on the closed doors, all waiting to see what was inside.

Never in a million years could Lily have seen this coming.

As soon as the doors were opened, a great tidal wave of water came whooshing out, knocking Snape and a few unfortunate closer-standing spectators right off their feet. Several others were swept away, screaming in fear – though there was no doubt that many of the screams were of excitement as well.

It was probably a good thing that they were standing so close to the staircase. The girls turned and sprinted back up, quite aware of the water that seemed to be chasing them step for step. It was only when they reached the first floor that the water receded back down.

Cautiously, Lily crept back down the stairs. Someone had been smart enough to open the front doors, and the water had drained out onto the courtyard. That being said, there was still a good deal of water left; no doubt it had been charmed to remain in the castle.

"Urgh," Lily muttered, splashing her way through the knee-high waters, "I'm going to kill those boys."

"I'll be right there, holding them down," Alice said, joining Lily with the other girls close behind her. She was about to say more when she was suddenly drenched in a downpour of water.

Alice screamed in shock.

Someone behind them sniggered at her reaction. The Transfers recognised that voice at the exact same time; simultaneously, four girls stepped back to give Alice a clear shot at Frank Longbottom.

"You!" Alice shouted. Her wand was out in her hand faster than the eye could see. She slashed it in his direction, and a wave of water collided with the Head Boy, soaking him through.

He quickly retaliated, and soon enough a great battle broke out between the two. A battle in which they soon disposed of their wands and resolved to splashing each other by hand. Their shouts too, soon turned to laughter.

Lily blinked, confused, as Frank grabbed Alice and dragged them both into the water.

"Did I miss something?" Jo asked.

"I'm as lost as you," she answered.

Alice emerged without a hint of an argument. In fact, she merely shoved Frank's head under, grinning the whole while.

"Um ... I think we should just leave them to it," Violet said.

"Yeah, I concur," Michaela said.

Lily shot her a strange look as the four girls sat down at the Gryffindor table. "'I concur'? Who even says that these days?"

Michaela just shrugged, grabbing a slice of toast. "Me."

Up the front of the Hall, the teachers sat at their table in stony silence, no doubt all waiting for the Marauders to arrive. All, except Dumbledore, who seemed to rather enjoy the newly decorated Hall, swinging his legs through the water and creating little splashes.

They'd almost finished breakfast by the time Alice joined them, soaking wet and smiling. By then, several other water battles had begun and ended, and most of the food had been drenched.

"You looked like you were having fun," Lily smirked.

"Oh, shut up," came the immediate reply, though there was no heat.

Any other teasing was cut off when the Marauders walked into the Great Hall, heads held high and distinct glints of pride in their eyes. Many students broke into applause; many others (especially the Slytherins) tried to aim discrete hexes at the boys. After all, they'd yet to find Severus Snape, their star chaser. A little revenge was in order.

But any retaliation that could've occurred didn't, for at that moment Professor McGonagall stood up from the front table with such force that her chair went flying backwards before landing with a gigantic splash in the water.

"JAMES POTTER!" She shrieked. "SIRIUS BLACK! COME WITH ME THIS _INSTANT_!"

And though she only said two names, she dragged Remus and Peter with her – presumably up to her office – no doubt to yell at them some more.

"They are so screwed," Lily said, though it was hard to keep the grin off her face.

In the end, it turned out that all four boys had received detentions, and had had letters sent home. But apparently, the detentions had been a lot less harsh than what they would've received the previous year had they attempted a similar stunt, due to the fact that they'd remained relatively quiet this year. Nonetheless, it was like Alice said.

"They call scrubbing the Owlery with their toothbrushes 'less harsh'?"

.

_Hehehe. Extra brownies to you if you know where that punishment came from!_

_Until then! xox_


End file.
